Woodburn Independent Online

Man robs Fairway Drug of OxyContin pills

• By: Rachel Cavanaugh  
• Published: 3/16/2010 10:39:45 AM
• Last Updated: 3/16/2010 11:05:40 AM

Photo By: Rachel CavanaughRobbery
Fairway Drug was robbed Monday afternoon when a man, who appeared to have a handgun, stole 500 OxyContin pill and fled in a small, gray pick-up truck.

WOODBURN — A thief made off with a bag of the prescription painkiller, OxyContin, with a street value of $10,000, in a hold-up in Woodburn on Monday.
 
According to pharmacist Kristi Holt, 25, a man entered Fairway Drug where she was working at about noon. When she came out to talk to him, he demanded she hand over the pills.
 
“He said, ‘Give me all your OxyContin,’” Holt said. “… I went back and I gathered some OxyContin and I put it in a bag and then handed it to him and he booked out of here.”

She said it looked like he had a gun in his pocket.
 
“It was very obvious that something was poking through his jacket,” Holt said.
 
“… The weapon was in his right hand and he grabbed the merchandise with his left hand and took off.”
 
She said nearby witnesses outside saw him run across to the KFC where he was parked and head north on I-5.
 
She said he wasn’t shaking or acting in any ways she would traditionally associate with a drug user. Jack Holt, the pharmacy’s owner, said he guessed the suspect was hoping to resell the drugs rather than use them.
 
The man took 500 pills, totaling about $1,100 to the pharmacy’s cost. The street value is about $10,000.
 
Holt described the suspect as a white male, about 50 to 60 years old, wearing dark sunglasses and a black jacket. She said he had slight facial hair and white-gray hair.
 
Woodburn Police Department spokesman Mike Araiza said the suspect’s vehicle is described as a smaller, grey, extra cab pickup — possibly a Ford Ranger. There is no license plate information but a white sticker, about 12x12 inches, was seen in the rear window.
 
Araiza said it is unclear if the robbery is linked to recent pharmacy hold-ups in Corvallis and Newberg.
 
“I can’t rule it out but not that I’m aware of,” he said.
 
There were four employees in the store at the time of the robbery, along with two customers and a sales representative.
 
“This store has cameras throughout and we are making tapes right now,” said owner Jack Holt. “I’m just happy that my employees are safe.”

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