Tempe police arrested a 33-year-old Mesa man Monday on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining narcotic drugs, police reported.
Police said William Sotomayor II attempted to obtain morphine, an opiate-derived painkiller, with a forged prescription at a Target store near Baseline Road and Interstate 10 in Tempe.
The pharmacy called police, and upon police arrival, a man matching the description of the suspect began to walk away from the pharmacy, and attempted to run toward the front door of the store, according to a press release from the Tempe Police Department.
Sotomayor was contacted and detained by police at the front of the store, police said.
About a week prior to his arrest, a pharmacist at the store called police saying Sotomayor had been obtaining morphine at numerous Target pharmacies across the Valley using forged prescriptions, police reported.
The pharmacist said Sotomayor had prescriptions filled at the Tempe store previously, and the pharmacist called police once the fraudulent prescription was entered into their system, police said.
A police investigation revealed Sotomayor had fraudulently obtained morphine and oxycodone, a semi-synthetic opiate-derived painkiller, with forged prescriptions on 14 different occasions at the same Target store, police reported.
Sotomayor told officers he was on probation for similar crimes in the past, but would not answer questions related to Monday’s incident, police said.
The man was transported to Tempe City Jail, and faced 15 felony counts of fraudulently obtaining narcotic drugs, police reported.
If convicted on all counts, Sotomayor could face a minimum of 52.5 years in prison, and pay a fine of $2,000 or three times the value of the drugs as determined by the court, according to Arizona Revised Statutes.
Reach the reporter at mhendley@asu.edu
