Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 3, 1990 TAG: 9007030172
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: By NEAL THOMPSON NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"There was $200 in the register at the time, but no money was taken and nobody was hurt," said Pearisburg Police Chief Bill Whitsett.
Whitsett said that about 4:30 Sunday afternoon, a man jumped over the counter of the pharmacy section in the rear portion of Rite Aid Pharmacy at the Magic Mart shopping center on Main Street.
Two cashiers and a pharmacist on duty told police the man crouched behind the counter, pointed a revolver at the pharmacist "and demanded drugs and proceeded to name the drugs," Whitsett said.
All the drugs were Schedule II narcotic painkillers.
The man left the store "spouting off rap music" and then ran behind the shopping center and disappeared, Whitsett said.
"I believe that he's done this before. They said he was very calm in his demeanor," he said.
Whitsett said the suspect had very dark skin, but police believed he was white. He was 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 9 inches tall, between 20 and 30 years old and of slim build. He wore a red flannel shirt and a white bandana and black baseball cap.
Ron French, a pharmacist who was not working Sunday, said he, too, believed the man knew what he was doing.
"He was after the depressant-type narcotics that we carry," French said Monday.
French said they keep a limited supply of those types of drugs, but the man knew exactly what to ask for - by generic name and brand name.
Because the thief emptied their limited supplies, the pharmacy had to turn away prescriptions Monday, French said. And it will take two or three days to restock.
"I just hope they catch the guy," he said.
Whitsett said they very nearly did just that.
A town officer considered buying saline solution as he drove past the pharmacy about the time it was being robbed. But he continued driving to the Police Department and was halfway there when he got a call over the radio about the robbery.
"He got there less than a minute later," Whitsett said. "We just missed him."
by CNB