SEATTLE – A 24-year-old Lakes Stevens man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison in connection with a scheme to burglarize pharmacies in the Northwest and sell prescription narcotics.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Dale MacDonald, 24, was also ordered to pay $65,089.48. He had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burglarize pharmacies, burglarizing pharmacies, and distributing narcotics stolen from the pharmacies.

MacDonald joined with other Snohomish County men in burglarizing pharmacies throughout the Pacific Northwest over a 2-year period from 2004 to 2006. Specific burglaries admitted by the defendant included pharmacies in Snohomish, Wash., Salem, Ore., Sutherlin, Ore., Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, and Everett, Wash.

The burglaries were committed during the late evening/early morning hours while the pharmacies were closed for business. Telephone lines leading to the pharmacies were cut in order to disable the pharmacy's remote alarm. The burglars stole thousands of pills containing oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, morphine, meperidine, fentanyl, and amphetamines, and other Schedule II and III controlled substances. The drugs were transported to the Marysville, Wash. area, where they were sold.