Someone broke into a Pinehurst home Monday, stealing a bottle of prescription pain medication.

The incident occurred on Everette Road. The homeowner left his house for work about 12:45 p.m. and later received a call from his home security company that his alarm had been activated.

The first Pinehurst police officer on the scene found the house's back door damaged and standing open. The officer called for backup and advised the homeowner to stay outside until the house was cleared. Another officer and a detective subsequently arrived on the scene.

The homeowner advised the officers that the only thing that appeared to be missing was a bottle of pain pills, later determined to be hydrocodone prescribed to the homeowner after a root canal. The suspect also pulled a duffel bag out of a bedroom closet, but no other items were reported missing.

A friend of the homeowner who arrived to help secure the residence told an officer the house had also been broken into in January.

Neighbors interviewed by police didn't report anything out of the ordinary.

On April 9, a homeowner on Thompson Lane contacted police when she found that a window screen in her children's bedroom was slightly pried open and the window itself was opened about a quarter of an inch. The window's safety alarm had been activated.

The responding officer found no pry marks on the window, and no other evidence was found around the residence. Nothing was reported missing.

No neighbors reported any suspicious activity in the area, but Pinehurst police provided extra patrol in the neighborhood and told the victim to report anything else suspicious.

No suspects have been named in either case.

Contact John Krahnert III at 693-2473 or by e-mail at jkrahnert@thepilot.com