2011 Medford pharmacy shooting
| 2011 Medford pharmacy shootings | |
|---|---|
| Location | Haven Drugs, Medford, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°48′04″N 73°00′13″W / 40.8011°N 73.0037°W |
| Date | June 19, 2011 |
Attack type | |
| Weapon | .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Perpetrator | David Saul Laffer |
| Motive | Drug addiction, robbery |
On June 19, 2011, four people were killed at Haven Drugs, a pharmacy in Medford, New York, during a robbery. The perpetrator, David Saul Laffer, committed the shooting after he had lost his job, and was, with his wife, addicted to opioids. Laffer was sentenced to life without parole, and his wife was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
A doctor who had previously sold Laffer drugs, and was discovered in the aftermath to have been running a pill mill that led to the overdose deaths of several people, was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.[1]
Background
[edit]Laffer and his wife both had an opioid addiction.[2] Laffer and his wife were caught on security camera visiting an illegal pharmacy, later described as a "pill mill", the week before the shootings.[2][1] The man operating the clinic, Stan Xuhui Li, had previously sold him drugs.[3][4][5]
Shooting
[edit]Laffer entered the pharmacy with a backpack and set it down on the counter with his right hand in the bag holding his handgun.[6] Laffer then asked 17-year-old employee Jennifer Meija if he could speak privately with 45-year-old Raymond Ferguson who was also an employee at the pharmacy. She then walked a few feet away and Laffer continued to talk to the pharmacist about several medications. Laffer suddenly opened fire with his handgun and shot Ferguson in the abdomen he then turned his attention to Meija and fatally shot her two times. Laffer then walked back to Ferguson who was lying on his back and proceeded to fatally shoot him two times. Laffer then started looking for drugs behind the counter until he saw someone approaching the pharmacy. He then hurried to the front of the pharmacy and hid. When 71-year-old Bryon Sheffield walked in he shot and killed him execution style. Laffer then started filling his bag with pills but then got distracted when he saw 33-year-old Jamie Taccetta walking towards the pharmacy. When Taccetta walked in Laffer proceeded to fatally shoot her after this he walked back and fourth from the pharmacy counter filling his bag with prescription pills.[7][8]A .45 caliber handgun was used in the shooting.[9]
He stole a bag's worth of painkillers, wiped the counter, and fled. Laffer stole over 11,000 hydrocodone pills.[2][10] His wife was outside in a getaway car.[2]
He fired 7 shots during the shooting, 3 hit the pharmacist, 2 hit his assistant, and each customer was shot one time.
Perpetrator
[edit]Laffer (born November 16, 1977) is a longtime resident of Medford, who graduated from Patchogue-Medford High School in 1995 before joining the U.S. Army afterward. In May 2023, while serving his time at Elmira Correctional Facility in Elmira, New York, Laffer broke a decade of silence in an interview with News 12 Networks about his regrets, prison life, gun violence, the accessibility of guns, and the five minutes he wishes he could take back.[11]
Aftermath
[edit]Laffer was arrested on June 22.[12] The next day, he was booked in court, and pled not guilty.[13][14][15] According to Laffer, the motivation for the robbery/murders was because he had lost his job and his wife needed painkillers.[16]
On November 10, Laffer was sentenced to life without parole.[17][18] His wife was sentenced to 25 years on robbery charges, the maximum sentence allowed.[16] During the trial, the judge described him as someone with "unnatural viciousness", and promised that he would have Laffer placed in solitary confinement for the rest of his life: corrections officials pointed out only they had the ability to decide this.[10] Dr. Li, the operator of the illegal pharmacy, was later sentenced to up to 20 years in prison in December 2014, for selling illegal prescriptions to Laffer and manslaughter, as two of his patients had overdosed.[2][3][19]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Bismuth, Charlotte (January 19, 2021). "Soft Targets". Bad Medicine: Catching New York's Deadliest Pill Pusher. Atria/One Signal Publishers. ISBN 9781982116422.
- ^ a b c d e "Only on PIX11: Pharmacy killer and wife shown at Queens 'pill mill' 8 days before murders". PIX11. May 28, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ a b McKinley, James C. Jr. (December 20, 2014). "Pain Clinic Doctor Is Sentenced in Overdose Deaths of 2 Patients". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ Grace, Melissa (November 21, 2011). "Doc who prescribed pain meds to killer David Laffer accused of running drug mill". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ Rosenblum, Tara (May 18, 2023). "Convicted murderer David Laffer wishes he could take back 5 minutes of Medford massacre". News 12. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ "Medford Pharmacy Massacre Suspect David Laffer Indicted on Additional Charges". CBS News. June 30, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ Harris, Elizabeth A. (June 20, 2011). "Robber Kills 4 in L.I. Pharmacy; One Victim is a 17-Year-Old Girl". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "4 Killed in Medford Pharmacy Shooting". CBS News. June 19, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "Medford pharmacy shooting: Six years later". Newsday. June 16, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ a b Jeffreys, Derek S. (2013). "Should We Banish the Wicked? The Ethics of Solitary Confinement". Spirituality in Dark Places: The Ethics of Solitary Confinement. Content and Context in Theological Ethics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 104-105. ISBN 978-1-137-30861-0.
- ^ "The Medford pharmacy killer speaks for the first time". News 12 Networks. May 22, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ^ "Arrests made in Long Island pharmacy killings". NBC News. June 22, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Eltman, Frank (June 23, 2011). "NY pharmacy shooting suspect pleads not guilty". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ ""No Remorse" from Accused Pharmacy Shooter: Police". NBC News. June 23, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Vilensky, Mike (June 23, 2011). "Suspect in Long Island Drugstore Murders Pleads Not Guilty". Intelligencer. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ a b "David Laffer, wife sentenced in Medford pharmacy massacre". ABC13 Houston. November 10, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "David Laffer Gets Life Without Parole, Wife Gets 25 Years in Medford Pharmacy Massacre". CBS News. November 10, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Stelloh, Tim (November 11, 2011). "Mercy Not Sought or Given, Killer of Four is Sentenced". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Riley, John (December 12, 2014). "Daughter of Medford massacre victim wants the max for convicted pain pill doctor". Newsday. Retrieved March 4, 2024.