By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A 21-year-old Pelham man is being held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $80,000 after he was arrested June 22 and charged with burglarizing and attempting to burglarize several local pharmacy stores.

Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Zachary Reed Lott, of Pelham, after they responded to a burglary alarm at the Walgreens store in the 4400 block of Valleydale Road in the early morning hours of June 21.

When deputies arrived to the Walgreens, they discovered someone had knocked out one of the windows and entered the business. The deputies also noticed a suspicious vehicle behind the store shortly before they found Lott hiding in a neighborhood adjacent to the drug store, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies then detained Lott and questioned him before releasing him.

After releasing the suspect, deputies and investigators discovered someone had also attempted to break into the Walgreens on Doug Baker Boulevard in Hoover and the Rite Aid in the 4500 block of Valleydale Road.

The Pelham Police Department also reported a criminal mischief incident at about 5:31 a.m., during which a surveillance camera at the Pelham Rite Aid at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Valleydale Road witnessed a suspect attempting to break one of the pharmacy’s windows using “what appeared to be a sledgehammer,” said Pelham police Lt. Scott Tucker.

After investigating the other attempted burglary incidents, sheriff’s deputies then located Lott and charged him with three counts of first-degree criminal mischief, three counts of possession of burglar’s tools, one count of third-degree burglary and one count of obstructing justice by using a false ID.

“At this time, investigators do not believe that any narcotics were stolen during the burglary or attempted burglaries,” read a Sheriff’s Department press release.