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Drug store employees assaulted

Violent suspect demanded drugs

By: Gabrielle Giroday

Posted: 01/20/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Police are looking for a violent robber who was apparently craving opiate drugs when he assaulted two employees of a small pharmacy on Tuesday, the third time in just over a month the same pharmacy has been hit by thieves.

The man assaulted two employees at Brown's Drug Store at 239 Henderson Hwy. as he demanded drugs at about 11 a.m.

Police believe the robbery may have been motivated by the desire for OxyContin -- though the robber ended up getting none on Tuesday.

There were 10 robberies or attempted robberies of Manitoba pharmacies last month. In each of those robberies, the suspect was looking for drugs.

"This is a chronic problem right now that we're all facing," said Const. Jason Michalyshen, Winnipeg Police Service spokesman. He said robberies like the one at Brown's put store employees and members of the general public at risk.

On Tuesday, a 20-year-old woman who works at the store initially tried to help the robber before he forced his way behind the dispensing counter, police said. Two employees, a 54-year-old man and 55-year-old woman, came to their co-worker's aid and the suspect punched them before taking off, police said.

"(It's) certainly very concerning," said Michalyshen.

Police are now looking for a six-foot-tall man with an average build. He was wearing a hood during Tuesday's robbery and may have covered his face with a scarf, police said.

Michalyshen said police couldn't confirm if the man had a weapon, but said he may have been armed. Employees at Brown's Drug Store had no comment on the matter Wednesday, but a sign on the front door stated OxyContin was available by special order only.

Late last month, owner Thomas Ling told the Free Press a suspect had shuffled up to the pharmacy's counter and demanded OxyContin.

The man made off with a few OxyContin pills and a small amount of another painkiller, said Ling, with staff recognizing him from another robbery less than two weeks before.

The suspect description released by police Wednesday is similar to one released in December regarding four pharmacy robberies in East Kildonan, including the one at Brown's.

In an alert sent to its members, the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association said a thief involved in four robberies from Dec. 24-28 was a white man in his early twenties, about 5-foot-8 to six feet tall, and wore a brown hoodie and jeans, with a scarf over his face.

He usually demanded opiates, OxyContin, or morphine, said the alert.

Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association registrar Ronald Guse said Wednesday pharmacists are highlighting ways of trying to prevent robbery, like getting surveillance cameras. He said if a robber targets a pharmacist he recommends they "comply with the demands."

"That is the safest thing to do, I believe," he said.

Anyone with information can call investigators at 986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 786-8477 (TIPS), police said.

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 20, 2011 B2

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