DES PERES, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
It turns out an accused drug store robber has been using a toy gun to steal painkillers at St. Louis area Walgreens stores. Officers just caught him trying to do it again, early Wednesday morning, police said.
The suspect, 45, from Barnhart, robbed a Festus Walgreen's at gunpoint in July, then the Des Peres store last month; trying again there this time, police said.
He was after the drug OxyContin, not money, said Festus police chief, Tim Lewis. He said the suspect admitted to stealing the pills to ease severe pain from Crohn's Disease and other ailments; his doctor had been trying to ween him off the drugs.
Detectives from Des Peres and Festus figured they had not seen the last of him.
"When our [Festus] detectives got with their [Des Peres] detectives and started talking we all that this guy was going to hit again," Lewis said. "We all felt he wasn't stealing to resell. He was stealing because he had a habit or had a problem; which turned out to be true."
The fact that he was using a toy gun, didn't make the holdups lesser crimes, Lewis told Fox 2.
"It doesn't matter if you steal a dime if you display a weapon. The clerks and the pharmacist, it doesn't matter what you get, if they think it's a real gun, it's a real gun. It's a real robbery. It doesn't matter what he gets. If he doesn't get anything, he still committed the act," Lewis said.
Police did not release the suspect's name pending formal charges, which Lewis said would likely include felony theft, armed robbery, and armed criminal action. The man's wife was also in custody as an accomplice for driving the getaway car, Lewis said.
The suspect, 45, from Barnhart, robbed a Festus Walgreen's at gunpoint in July, then the Des Peres store last month; trying again there this time, police said.
He was after the drug OxyContin, not money, said Festus police chief, Tim Lewis. He said the suspect admitted to stealing the pills to ease severe pain from Crohn's Disease and other ailments; his doctor had been trying to ween him off the drugs.
Detectives from Des Peres and Festus figured they had not seen the last of him.
"When our [Festus] detectives got with their [Des Peres] detectives and started talking we all that this guy was going to hit again," Lewis said. "We all felt he wasn't stealing to resell. He was stealing because he had a habit or had a problem; which turned out to be true."
The fact that he was using a toy gun, didn't make the holdups lesser crimes, Lewis told Fox 2.
"It doesn't matter if you steal a dime if you display a weapon. The clerks and the pharmacist, it doesn't matter what you get, if they think it's a real gun, it's a real gun. It's a real robbery. It doesn't matter what he gets. If he doesn't get anything, he still committed the act," Lewis said.
Police did not release the suspect's name pending formal charges, which Lewis said would likely include felony theft, armed robbery, and armed criminal action. The man's wife was also in custody as an accomplice for driving the getaway car, Lewis said.
