Armed Robber Holds Up Palo Alto Pharmacy For OxyContin Pills
PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- An armed man stole a narcotic pain reliever from a Walgreens store in downtown Palo Alto on Monday afternoon, police said.
Officers were dispatched to the store, located at 300 University Ave., after the robbery was reported at 2:34 p.m. The suspect had fled before they arrived.
Police said the suspect had approached the store's pharmacy department and asked a pharmacist for assistance in finding an over-the-counter medication.
As the pharmacist was helping him, the suspect opened a messenger bag he was carrying and revealed to the employee that he had a gun inside the bag.
The suspect told the pharmacist he was addicted to opiates and demanded the prescription pain reliever OxyContin, according to police.
The pharmacist complied and retrieved a bottle of OxyContin, police said.
The suspect took it and exited the store, and was seen walking south in the 500 block of Bryant Street, police said.
He was described as a white man in his 20s, standing about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing between 160 and 180 pounds. He has short, cropped hair, and was wearing a white hat with a Seattle Seahawks logo, a gray fleece jacket and light-colored pants and shoes at the time of the robbery, police said.
The messenger bag he was carrying was tan and green with a black strap, police said.
Walgreens' surveillance video system captured images of the suspect, and police are asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect.
Anyone with information on the robbery or the suspect's identity is asked to call the Police Department's 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call or text (650) 383-8984, or email paloalto@tipnow.org.
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