« January 2006

Identity of Thief In Valley Pharmacy Heists Stymies Police
January 20, 2006

Authorities need the public's help to identify the person or people involved in a spate of OxyContin heists at pharmacies across the Valley.

Phoenix police released surveillance-video images Thursday of one or more robbers who may be linked to 31 OxyContin robberies in greater Phoenix since June.

The robbers have made off with thousands of pills, each with a street value of $1 per milligram, Phoenix police Sgt. Lauri Williams said. Most pills come in doses of 80 to 160 milligrams each.

The robber typically walks into a pharmacy wearing a disguise, including a baseball cap, wig or adhesive bandages to cover his face and demands OxyContin, a powerful pain reliever. He sometimes shows a handgun to the clerk but mostly merely claims to have a weapon.

Pharmacies in Phoenix, Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, Scottsdale, Peoria, Glendale and Sun Lakes have been hit. The last robbery was at 8:12 p.m. on Dec. 29 at an Osco Drug in Apache Junction.

Williams said after months of dead-end leads, detectives are frustrated with the case.

"If you're in a Fry's or Osco, you have to walk through to get to the pharmacy," she said. "You're hoping someone would have seen something, but (the robbers) have no problem with walking into a store, going to the pharmacy, committing a robbery and walking out."

The first robber was described as a male, 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall, 160 to 230 pounds, wearing a dark baseball cap with a professional sports-team logo.

The second robber was described as 25 to 30 years old, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 2 inches tall, 180 to 220 pounds, wearing a baseball cap or wig.

Anyone with information is asked to call Phoenix police's Violent Crimes Bureau at (602) 262-6141 or Silent Witness at (800) WITNESS.

Source:- http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0120oxy20.html