Masked Robber Totes Off 4,000 Oxy Pills from Chiefland Walgreens

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

A masked gunman wearing a hoodie jumped the counter of the Walgreens Pharmacy in Chiefland on Feb. 10 and robbed the store of 4,000 oxycodone pills, according to city police.

The man ran out of the store and headed in the direction of Walmart but couldn’t be seen by Walmart security cameras due to other buildings obstructing the view of the camera.

Police Chief Scott Anderson made the Chiefland City Commission aware of the robbery Monday night when he discussed the need to hire two more police officers due to the heavy call load facing his department.

A police report said the man kept his head tilted down as security cameras caught sight of him walking into the Walgreens at 8:05 p.m. He was described as a thin black male wearing a COVID-style mask, dark hoodie, gray pants, blue/purple medical-style gloves, and green/black basketball-style sneakers.

Pharmacist Tammy Lynn Bennett told police she was filling prescriptions when the man approached the counter, jumped over it, lifted his shirt to display a firearm, removed a hidden backpack, and demanded she open the safe and hand over “Percocet,” an opioid pain medicine containing oxycodone.

Bennett could be seen by a security camera grabbing bottles off the shelf as the suspect instructed her to place them in his backpack. She walked to the safe, opened it, and gave the robber the Percocet. The suspect jumped over the counter and ran toward the front of the store, exiting the business.

Brooke Lynn Gamez, a pharmacy tech, said her back was to the counter carrying out her job duties when the suspect hurdled the counter.

“Bennett was physically as well as emotionally distraught in which she stated the same details as Bennett adding the suspect kept repeating “don’t look at my face,” the report said. Another pharmacy employee, Melissa Suzette Howard gave an account similar to the other employees but added, “everything happened so quickly.”

While interviewing the victims, police said the lead shift employee, Ira Richard Holland, Jr. said he received a call from management on the day of the robbery saying the same man apparently committed the same offense at the Walgreens in Alachua and Clay County. The suspect was in the same hoodie, wore a face mask, displayed a gun, and stole bottles of oxycodone.

Anderson said the oxycodone pills can be sold on the black market for a profit.

COVID-19 masks have hamstrung law enforcement, he said. Wearing a mask in public is a felony, but when COVID came along, criminals began taking advantage of the face masks to conceal their identity.

“They walk into these stores and rob them,” Anderson told commissioners.

Mayor Chris Jones said he has been approached by citizens who spoke to him sternly about the growing drug problem in Chiefland.

“We’ve got some serious problems with drugs in this community. We’ve had quite a few fatalities in this community directly related to drugs,” Jones said. “It’s a tough situation when our prosecutors won’t do anything – it’s real tough for the officers to take action against drugs. I think criminals are aware of this and take advantage of that.”

He added, “We’ve got to work together to take any action. It’s easy to point fingers at public officials in law enforcement when things go south, but it takes a community effort to be involved. Until we get everything working together, everything’s going to get worse in my opinion.”

Jones said the opioid situation is “definitely bad in this area. That’s all I’m going to say about that, but it’s not good.”

Anderson said the police department has been staffed with 8 officers since 2009. He said the call load is up 40 percent, assisting other agency calls (sheriff’s office) is up 60 percent, with traffic citations and DUIs up 300 percent and car crashes up 100 percent. Anderson said his department is shorthanded and it’s affecting how it deals with crime.

“We’re not proactive, we’re reactive,” he said.

The city commission authorized Anderson to apply for a COPS-federal grant to hire two additional officers. Starting salary is $44,000. The grant will pay 75 percent of the salaries and benefits the first year, 50 percent the second year, and 25 percent the third year. In the fourth year, the city will be responsible for the full cost of salaries, benefits, and retirement, or about $106,000 for the two officers. If the city lets the officers go in the fourth year, it would have to repay the federal government for its contributions.

Commissioners also gave Anderson permission to apply for a USDA grant to purchase two additional police cars. The chief said the cost of each car has risen by $8,000 due to inflated prices throughout the nation.

The robbery was worked by city police officers Timothy O’Shaughnessy and Timothy Turner.