Pace Pharmacy owners arrested again on additional drug charges, along with fourth suspect
The embattled owners of Pace Pharmacy were arrested again June 23 on more drug-related charges after their arrest in an ongoing investigating into an alleged local pill mill and drug trafficking scheme.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff's deputies arrested Stephen and Monique Burklow for multiple felonies and misdemeanors. Deputies also arrested 22-year-old Laikyn Burklow, who shares the same home address as Stephen and Monique, for misdemeanor possession of a new legend drug without a prescription.
Stephen Burklow was arrested on charges of felony fraud and drug possession, as well as a misdemeanor count of possessing a new legend drug. Monique Burklow was arrested for drug possession and a misdemeanor count of possessing a new legend drug.
The elder Burklows were previously arrested on a combined 14 charges related to alleged money laundering, drug trafficking and racketeering through their family-owned pharmacy.
All three were released from Santa Rosa County jail on bond June 23. As of June 24, it does not appear the Office of the State Attorney has publicly filed a case for the new charges of Stephen and Monique Burklow, or the first-time charge against Laikyn Burklow.
Stephen "Steve" A. Burklow, 54, and Monique Hunter Burklow, 58, are spouses and the owners of Pace Pharmacy, located at 4880 Woodbine Road.
Stephen A. Burklow was licensed as a pharmacist Aug. 3, 1993, according to Florida Department of Health records, and has been an independent pharmacy owner for 20 years, according to his website. He previously owned and operated Burklow Pharmacy, also in Pace.
He specializes in compounding, the practice of mixing customer-specific medications in house, and independent retail pharmacy.
Stephen Burklow, who acted as a pharmacist, and Monique Burklow, who acted as the pharmacy's office manager, were the subject of a multi-year, multi-agency investigation led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Arrests came down on the two, as well as second pharmacist David Winkles, in May, with charges including conspiring to traffic prescription drugs including trafficking over 22 kilograms (48 pounds) of oxycodone, over 26 kilograms (57 pounds) of hydrocodone and just shy of one kilogram of hydromorphone.
FDLE's investigation began in December 2020, after learning that a local obstetrician-gynecologist, later identified as Dr. Elaine Sharp, was writing an excessive amount of controlled substance prescriptions and recommending her patients fill the prescriptions at Pace Pharmacy. During this same time, FDLE was working jointly with multiple state, local and federal agencies to investigate numerous allegations of a pill mill operation in the area.
Agents say the Burklows and Winkles accepted and dispensed illicit prescriptions (including oxycodone, hydromorphone and hydrocodone) outside the course of professional practice and not intended for medical purpose or need. Additionally, Stephen Burklow, through the Pace Pharmacy, allegedly billed multiple insurance companies, using various physicians' National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers without their knowledge or consent to do so, for prescriptions that may or may not have been provided to patients.
On June 23, Stephen Burklow was arrested on charges of felony fraud and drug possession, as well as a misdemeanor count of possessing a new legend drug. Monique Burklow was arrested for drug possession and a misdemeanor count of possessing a new legend drug.
Beside the newest allegations, Stephen Burklow is also facing 11 felony charges stemming from the FDLE investigation including:
Conspiracy to traffic oxycodone
Conspiracy to traffic hydrocodone
Conspiracy to traffic hydromorphone
Conspiracy to commit racketeering
Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud
Five counts of identity theft
Monique Burklow is facing charges including:
Conspiracy to commit racketeering
Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Conspiracy to sell controlled substances
Along with their criminal charges, both Burklows and Winkles are facing a lawsuit filed by the family of Andrew Strickland, a 47-year-old man who died just days after he filled a prescription written by Sharp, according to Levin Papantonio attorney Peter Mougey.
Strickland was found in his room unresponsive in June 2023 roughly 10 days after filling the prescription, and Mougey says Stephen Burklow, Monique Burklow, Winkles and Pace Pharmacy are responsible.
"This is a case about accountability," Mougey said. "Pharmacies have a legal and moral duty to act as a line of defense against dangerous prescribing practices.
"In this case, that duty was catastrophically breached, and their failure to follow the law and their professional duties cost a man his life," Mougey added.
The lawsuit alleges five separate counts related to Strickland's death including:
Negligence, gross negligence and reckless conduct of pharmacist Stephen Burklow
Negligence, gross negligence and reckless conduct of pharmacist David Winkles
Negligence of Pace Pharmacy LLC and vicarious liability for actions of pharmacy staff
Negligence of Pace Pharmacy LLC in its independent duties to ensure safe and lawful operations of the pharmacy
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace Pharmacy, Stephen Burklow, Monique Burklow arrested again
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
4 Takeaways From the Prosecution's Closing Argument at Sean Combs's Trial
A federal prosecutor summed up the government's case against the music mogul Sean Combs on Thursday, weaving strands of evidence from his seven-week trial on sex-trafficking and racketeering charges to portray him as the head of a criminal enterprise who 'used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted.' The prosecutor, Christy Slavik, focused much of her closing argument on the methods Mr. Combs used to coerce two women he dated — Casandra Ventura (the singer Cassie) and a woman who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane' — to have sex with hired men while he watched in drug-fueled sessions known as 'freak-offs,' 'hotel nights' or 'wild king nights.' Here are four takeaways from the prosecution's closing argument: A key point of contention has been whether Mr. Combs coerced the two women at the heart of the case into having sex with hired men, or if they were willing participants. In cross-examinations during the trial, the defense highlighted text messages in which the women expressed enthusiasm or excitement for the sessions. Ms. Slavik clarified for jurors that the government is not arguing that all of the sex nights with male escorts constitute sex trafficking. She said the women had initially been willing to engage to please Mr. Combs, but later became unwilling participants who complied either because they feared he would hurt them physically or cut them off financially. 'If there is one time — one single freak-off that jurors find were the product of force, threats of force, fraud or coercion, Mr. Combs should be found guilty of sex trafficking,' Ms. Slavik said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
2 more guards at Dublin "rape club" prison charged with sexually abusing female inmates
Two more former prison guards have been charged with sexually abusing female inmates at a federal prison in Dublin which became known as the "rape club," authorities announced Thursday. Jeffrey Wilson and Lawrence Gacad are the ninth and tenth employees of the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin charged in a rampant sexual abuse scandal at the prison that resulted in at least seven convictions, dozens of lawsuits by former inmates, and ultimately the closure of the prison last year. Wilson, 34, is charged with sexually abusing an inmate multiple times between March 14, 2022, and Aug. 16, 2022, according to a press statement from U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Craig Missakian. Wilson is also charged with lying to federal agents, claiming he never had sexual contact with the inmate and that he never gave her contraband while she was incarcerated. Gacad, 33, is charged with one count of sexual abuse of an inmate between March 1, 2022, and June 14, 2022. Among the other correctional officers convicted of sexually abusing inmates are former warden Ray Garcia, sentenced to 70 months in prison, and former chaplain James Highhouse, sentenced to 80 months in prison. Garcia was in charge of staff and inmate training on reporting abuse and complying with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act at the same time he was committing abuse, prosecutors said. Seven of the 10 correctional officers charged were either convicted following trial or pleaded guilty to charges. An eighth prison guard, Darrell "Dirty Dick" Smith, has his trial scheduled for Sept. 2. If convicted, Wilson faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the sexual abuse counts, and eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the false statements. Gacad faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the sexual abuse count. Any sentence would take into consideration federal sentencing guidelines. The U.S. government agreed to pay nearly $116 million to resolve lawsuits brought by more than 100 women abused by prison guards at FCI Dublin. Subsequent lawsuits have yet to be resolved. The Bureau of Prisons permanently shut down FCI Dublin in December 2024 after temporarily closing the prison in April 2024. Earlier this year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was reportedly considering using the shuttered prison to house detainees. The reports prompted lawmakers to voice their opposition to any plans to transfer detainees there and led to protests outside the facility.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
After Pittsburgh police call in help to disperse South Side crowds, union president points to understaffing
The Pittsburgh police union says a recent incident on the South Side should be raising alarms about the level of police staffing in the city. When the bars let out at 2 a.m. early Sunday, East Carson Street filled with an unruly crowd of 1,500 to 2,000 people. Pittsburgh police needed to call in officers from Monroeville, Shaler and Etna to form a line to clear the street. It's something the police union calls unprecedented. "In my years of experience here, 32-plus years in the city, I've never seen us have to call outside agencies. We've never had to call in agencies to come in and do normal operational policing," said FOP President Robert Swartzwelder. But because of understaffing, Swartzwelder believes this will be the first of many. In his room, he tracks how the bureau continues to lose more officers to retirements and resignations than it is training and hiring as new recruits. Today, he says there are just 664 officers working in the city — the lowest number anyone can remember. "Is that a dangerous level?" KDKA-TV's Andy Sheehan asked. "Perilously dangerous," Swartzwelder replied. Councilman Anthony Coghill has been sounding the alarm about police staffing for years now and says it's reached a crisis stage. He blames the current and former administrations for pausing police hiring, saying now the city can't catch up. "There were a lot of mistakes made starting going back to Bill Peduto not putting a recruitment class on. When the Gainey administration came in, they thought it was prudent not to put a class on," Coghill said. In a statement, the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department denied current staffing levels put the public at risk and said recent efforts, including hiring a full-time recruitment officer, have resulted in close to 200 potential recruits in the pipeline. "While police staffing is a challenge for most major police departments on a national and international level, the Pittsburgh Police Bureau is actively working on a number of initiatives to address recruitment and retention of officers." The administration and the police union are in contract talks. The city is cash strapped, but Coghill says it needs to find a way to raise police pay and improve benefits to keep existing officers and attract new ones "From what I understand, they're miles apart and that's not a good sign," he said.
