Crime & Safety

Pharmacy Robbery Nets Crook $24,000 Worth of Oxycontin

A man wearing a sling implied he had a weapon and walked out of a James Island pharmacy with 800 Oxycontin tablets Sunday

A man walked out of the Walgreen's on Folly Road with $24,000 worth of Oxycontin Sunday around 11 p.m. after demanding the drugs from the pharmacist and implying he had a weapon concealed in a sling.

The suspect, described as a white male, 35-40 years old, approximately 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 240 pounds, was wearing an orange T-shirt and brown shorts and had one arm in a sling, approached the pharmacy counter shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday and demanded the drugs, according to a Charleston County Sheriff's Office report.

The pharmacist told officers he initially thought the man was joking, and informed him that surveillance cameras were recording him. When the man reached into his sling the pharmacist asked if he had a weapon, and the man replied he didn't want to use it, according to the CCSO incident report on the robbery. The pharmacist never actually saw a weapon, but he complied with the man's demand and began handing over bottles of Oxycontin tablets.

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After the pharmacist gave the man a plastic bag containing five bottles of Oxycontin pills, the suspect looked through the bag and requested additional pills including oxycodone, a close analogue of Oxycontin. The pharmacist complied and added five bottles of oxycodone pills to the robber's bag.

A total of 800 pills worth approximately $24,000 were reported stolen. The suspect left the scene on foot before deputies arrived.

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Anyone with information in the robbery is asked to contact the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office at 843-202-1700 or Crime Stoppers at 843-554-1111.


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