Police: Draper pharmacist gave out M&Ms instead of pain pills

A Draper pharmacist is facing felony charges after police allege he decided to fill a fraudulent prescription with M&Ms instead of pills and sold those M&Ms for nearly $100.

When the customer complained, Robert M. Lammle, a Kmart pharmacist, told her she'd have to illegally sell pain pills and give him $3,000 of the profits or he'd turn her to cops, according to charging documents filed Wednesday in 3rd District Court.

Lammle, 51, of Salt Lake City, later told Drug Enforcement Administration agents that he thought his "pressure" tactics would force the woman to get help and go to rehab for her purported drug addiction problems.

Police said Lammle decided "to mess" around with the customer's prescription on Oct. 20 after he verified with a doctor that the prescription for 240 oxycodone pills she provided was fraudulent.

Lammle filled the prescription bottle with M&M candies and sold it to the woman, police said. When the woman called later in the day complain about the candy, police said Lammle told her she had to pay him $500 or else he'd turn her over to authorities and she'd lose custody of her children.

Four days later, the two allegedly met in secret at Kmart and Lammle gave the woman 240 pills for free, charging documents state. Police said he told her she had week to sell them and bring him $3,000.

Another pharmacist, coming back from lunch, ran into the woman in the store's parking lot and watched her run up to the drive-thru window and obtain the bag of drugs. That pharmacist checked the pharmacy's records and noticed that Lammle had generated a prescription for the pills, police said.

On Oct. 30, the customer called Lammle and told him she was only able to sell half the pills, and he told her to bring $1,500 and the remaining 120 tablets at night when he was working alone, police said. Investigators said the woman hadn't actually sold any of the tablets.

Lammle was charged with the third-degree felonies of solicitation or arranging to distribute a controlled substance, obtaining a prescription under false pretenses and a misdemeanor count of attempted theft by extortion.

A $10,000 warrant has been issued for Lammle's arrest.

jstecklein@sltrib.com

Twitter @sltribjanelle