State Suspends Cranston Pharmacy Tech for Stealing Thousands of Pills

A Cranston man who worked at the Warwick Avenue CVS in Warwick and the Oaklawn Avenue CVS in Cranston as a pharmacy technician has been suspended by the state Department of Health for stealing painkillers.

According to a signed summary suspension, Shaun P. Chevalier was seen on store video footage in Nov. 2013 as he took two bottles of hydrocodone from a shelf, put some pills from each in an amber bottle and then put that bottle in his pocket.

Chevalier reportedly admitted to the store manager that he had been stealing pills since 2009 and had stolen about 4,300 pills from CVS stores in Warwick and Cranston.

A CVS investigation showed that he stole a total of 909 hydrocodone-APAP 10-500 tablets and 1,449 hydrocodone APAP 7.5-325 tablets.

CVS reported the incident to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency.

The health department said in the summary suspension that the investigation "revealed facts that demonstrated a clear pattern of intentional misconduct by the respondent in the practice of pharmacy at CVS with regard to illegal taking of controlled substances."

Due to his "misconduct, negligence and disregard for acceptable standards of pharmacy technician practice," Chevalier is "unfit for the continuation in practice as a pharmacy technician" and ordered his immediate suspension.