Two Palm Desert businesses were burglarized and left with major damages

1 on 1 Fitness & Performance and Fireside Compounding Pharmacy were burglarized by multiple suspects, says the gym owner.

The burglars broke into the gym first and put a hole in the wall to enter the pharmacy. The gym owner confronted two of the burglars. He says, "They told me they had a gun. They were going to shoot me. So I took off." No one was hurt, according to the gym owner.

The suspects tried creating a hole closer to the gym's back entrance and noticed there was cement in between the companies. That did not stop them. They went further into the gym and started creating another hole that gave them access through some shelves to the pharmacy.

The pharmacy owners say this is not the first time they have been broken into; he says it has been over seven years since the last time. They made security adjustments. "Our alarm went off," says Yeme Omilana, the pharmacy's owner. "It's just those guys were able to circumvent the system by crawling on the floor. So that's another thing that people must understand: you must install motion detectors. They have to be installed very close to the floor because these criminals are crawling on the floor and doing a lot of damage. So I must get people to understand to benefit the whole business community."

When burglaries of this magnitude happen, how does this impact your business?

Pharmacy Owner: "Negatively, because moreso, it disrupts the patient access to their medicines, then also, it gets a bigger mess that we have to clean up. And also a lot of reporting that we have to do to the DEA to ensure that everything stolen has been accounted for and asked to be recorded. So there's a lot behind the scenes besides losing the physical or the monetary aspect; there's also some regulatory stuff we must comply with. Those things are tremendous. And it takes a lot of time to get all those things completed. But we are here for the community. And we'll continue to do a good service for all our patients."

What exactly was stolen?

Pharmacy Owner: "So, some of the controlled substances were stolen. And that's one of the things that it adversely affects the community as well because it hurts my heart. If I see drugs flowing into the community that is not legal, you know what I'm saying. So this is a very good pharmacy; we tend to keep everything accounted for. And at the same time, when this kind of thing happens. We think about the impact of this on the community. But we're going to get through this. And we'll continue to provide good company pharmacy services today, the whole of Coachella Valley."

For those who may be concerned about their personal information, what can you tell us about the security of that?

Pharmacy Owner: "They don't have to worry about that. The computer system has been secured. Nothing was stolen computer-wise. These people are not after computers. they are after drugs, and they get what they want. But at the same time, the information is HIPAA protected; they're all stored in a computer system. And we didn't lose any computer system. So only drugs were missing. And we're going to pull those drugs back. So They will continue to provide good services to our community."

News Channel 3 reached out to RSO, and they say this is an ongoing investigation, and they have no further information about this case.

News Channel 3 asked RSO, What steps can businesses take to protect themselves from burglaries?

• Installing video surveillance systems that allow for live viewing.
• Alarm systems
• Rolling security shutters
• Avoid items near or covering windows for a clear, unobstructed view into the business.
• Good interior and exterior lighting
• Limit social media advertising
• Also report any suspicious activity

Employees at the Pharmacy are cleaning up, but they are open for their clients to come and pick up their prescriptions. The gym hired a company to go in and close both holes.