Published: June 25, 2009 01:41 pm      

New Albany man accused in four pharmacy burglaries

Robert Datillo charged posthumously as getaway driver

A New Albany man has been charged with burglarizing a Shepherdsville, Ky., pharmacy three times after being caught in a similar burglary in Madison.

Also, Robert Datillo — who shot two Jeffersonville Police Department officers earlier this year — has been charged posthumously in one of those burglaries.

Barry Joe Kerr, 34, broke into the Medica Pharmacy in December and twice in January, according to Shepherdsville Police Capt. Ken Bernardi. Kerr is accused of stealing hydrocodone from the store. He was charged with three counts of burglary and three counts of theft of a controlled substance of more than $300. Bernardi said Kerr has a lengthy criminal history in Kentucky, and has current or past drug and burglary cases in six Kentucky counties.

He also faces charges in Madison, where he is being held in jail. Kerr was arrested June 14 there after allegedly breaking into a pharmacy and then fleeing police. Medica also was burglarized in May, but Bernardi said his detectives have not questioned Kerr about that burglary.

Datillo drove the getaway care in the first burglary, Bernardi said.

Datillo shot two JPD officers in February. He later committed suicide at a home in Louisville after a standoff with police. He has been posthumously charged with burglary and theft over $300.

When asked why they charged Datillo posthumously, Bernardi said, “You have a crime, you’ve got to have it cleared,” he said. “From what I’m told by my detectives, there would have been enough evidence to have convicted him.”

It is expected that there will be no court proceedings in the Datillo case.