Portsmouth pharmacy worker charged in drug theft

Stolen medicine valued at $670

PORTSMOUTH A local pharmacy student used his position as a drug store employee to steal prescription drugs, police allege.

Facing two criminal charges, one of them a felony, is James Henschke, 23, of 851 Ocean Blvd., Rye. Henschke allegedly was in possession of a bottle of alprazolam (Xanax) without a prescription and he's also charged with a misdemeanor alleging he stole the pills from a Lafayette Road drug store.

According to an affidavit by detective Robert Munson, Henschke was working at the drug store when a co-worker reportedly saw him steal a bottle containing 100 2mg tablets of the prescription drug. When confronted, Henschke put a confession in writing and also admitted to stealing Suboxone and clonazepam during a two-year period, the detective's affidavit states. The pharmacy estimated the value of the stolen drugs at $670.96, according to police.

In his report to the Portsmouth court, Munson said he gave Henschke a ride to a Portsmouth home at which he was staying at the time of the alleged Jan. 14 theft, and Henschke led him to a duffle bag containing a stolen bottle of alprazolam with half the pills missing.

Henschke admitted he'd taken four of the pills, Munson alleges in his report.

Following his arrest on the two charges, Henschke was released on $2,500 personal recognizance bail. On a pre-release form, he reported he's a student at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Henschke is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on the charges in the Portsmouth Circuit Court.

He is being represented by attorney Patrick Mulvey.

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Portsmouth pharmacy worker charged in drug theft