Two Elyria men were arrested after one allegedly attempted to pass bad prescriptions and another led police on a foot chase yesterday.
Seljan
Burnside
Robert Seljan, 48, of Elyria, was arrested for attempting to pass a prescription under a dead person’s name, according to Elyria police. He was charged with two counts of deception to obtain dangerous drugs and trafficking in Schedule II drugs.
Brett Burnside, 28, of Elyria, was arrested for contempt of court, obstructing official business and other outstanding warrants.
Officers were called by the Walgreens on Cleveland Street in Elyria about 5 p.m. yesterday by the county drug task force, according to a police report.
A male, later determined to be Seljan, was attempting to pass a prescription for Oxycontin at the drive-through, according to police. Walgreens contacted police and stated they would recontact when the man returned to pick up the prescription.
They called back at 5:20 p.m. to report the man had returned and was waiting in his vehicle at the drive-through window.
As officers pulled behind the vehicle, a teal-colored hatchback, a passenger, later identified as Burnside, opened a passenger-side door and fled on foot.
Officers, along with a police dog chased him and apprehended him near Cleveland Street and Beverly Court. Seljan, who was driving the vehicle, was also taken into custody.
Officers searched the vehicle and found a prescription filled less than an hour earlier at Drug Mart in Elyria for 120 Xanax pills along with a bottle of Excedrin Migraine pills. Officers also found doctor’s paperwork advising Seljan how to take his medications as well as two unfilled prescriptions.
A Walgreens pharmacist told police Seljan was attempting to fill a prescription for a “Jacqueline Borgsteadt,” who was listed as “deceased” in their computer system.
The pharmacist said Seljan asked how much the prescription would cost and was told $514.49. He told her he needed “to go downtown” to get money and would return. The pharmacist later turned over to police the $515 in cash Seljan gave her for the prescription.
In the meantime, the pharmacist said she received a call from a pharmacist at CVS that Seljan had just dropped prescriptions for Ambien CR and Lipoderm Patch in the name of the same deceased person.
