Pharmacist-turned-gumshoe

A local pharmacist who noticed a pattern of excessively large prescriptions for a narcotic triggered an investigation that led to a Chico woman’s arrest for allegedly falsifying prescriptions.

That woman, 37-year-old Cassie Lawley, of Chico, worked at a local doctor’s office, according to a Chico Police Department press release. When the pharmacist contacted that office, he was told by an employee that the prescriptions were legitimate, but that the doctor was unavailable for comment. Later, someone claiming to be the doctor returned the pharmacist’s call and reaffirmed that the prescriptions were real.

Still suspicious, the pharmacist tracked down the doctor’s personal number and was able to confirm that the prescriptions for roughly 540 Norco pills were fake. Further investigations revealed that more than 15,000 pills had been obtained this way since November 2012.

Lawley faces charges of burglary and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.