WATERVILLE — Police are asking the public to help identify a man who robbed a pharmacy Sunday and made off with an undisclosed amount of oxycodone.
“We’re hoping that anybody who may have been inside the store or outside will come forward with any information,” said Chief Joseph Massey.
The incident began about 2:30 p.m. Sunday at CVS Pharmacy on Kennedy Memorial Drive.
Massey said a man handed a pharmacy technician a note demanding oxycodone.
“She, in turn, gave the note to the pharmacist, who complied with his demands and gave him the oxycodone. And off he went,” Massey said.
Four police officers searched the immediate area after the robbery.
“We were not able to find anybody fitting that description. We have no indication whether he was on foot or got into a vehicle,” Massey said.
The robber is described as a white male in his late teens or early twenties. He is about five foot, six inches tall, weighing between 130 to 150 pounds. He was wearing tan pants and a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and also what appeared to be a a black, curly wig and a stocking cap with a horizontal stripe on it.
Massey said pharmacy robberies are on the rise in Maine because of an epidemic of illegal prescription drug use. Sometimes demand for drugs outstrips dealers’ ability to supply them.
“Occasionally, when one particular area is not able to supply the illegal drugs, then I think some of the end users become desperate and rob pharmacies,” he said.
Area pharmacists should be vigilant, but not vigilantes, he added.
“I think this is a really good time for all pharmacies to take a look at their safety procedures or protocol; to review them and review them with staff, and make sure they do everything they can to ensure everybody’s safety. Comply with the demands, but try to get the best possible description of the person who’s robbing the pharmacy,” he said.
Sunday marks the second time the CVS on Kennedy Memorial Drive was robbed.
In January 2011, Randa Lee Nason, 24, a transient, was convicted of a class B felony for a June 2010 robbery of the store. She was also convicted for robbing two pharmacies in southern Maine.
Massey said police are aggressively pursuing all leads in Sunday’s robbery.
“These are the types of violent crimes that very much concern me,” he said. “They could always end with someone getting injured, so we’re doing everything we can to identify this person and charge him.”
The Police Department asks that any tips be called in to 680-4700.
Ben McCanna — 861-9239
bmccanna@centralmaine.com
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