Pharmacy robbery reward offered

COEUR d'ALENE - A cash reward as large as $2,500 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for robbing Medicine Man Pharmacy in Coeur d'Alene.

On June 27, Coeur d'Alene Police officers responded to a report of a robbery at the pharmacy, located at 1114 Ironwood Drive, at 11 a.m. Employees said a male came into the pharmacy and approached the counter. He placed a black, snub-nose .38 caliber handgun with a wood handle on the counter and demanded the pharmacy tech give him OxyContin.

The Coeur d'Alene Police Department reported that the pharmacy does not keep OxyContin on hand, so the pharmacist handed the suspect Diazepam and the male immediately fled the pharmacy. He was last seen running south through Ironwood business parking lots toward Northwest Boulevard.

The robbery suspect is described as a white male in his early 20s, 5-foot-11 to 6 feet tall, 220-230 pounds, black medium-length hair with no facial hair, wearing a brown fedora-style hat, large-frame women's black sunglasses, long-sleeved light blue shirt with thin white stripes on the front, tan cargo shorts and with white earbud-style headphones in his ears.

"It's important for people to know that they can call in tips, or submit tips via the website, and remain completely anonymous," said Sgt. Christie Wood in a press release. "Callers never have to give their names or appear in court."

Wood added that the Crime Stoppers tip line doesn't use any tape recording or caller identification device.

Funds for the award are being provided by RxPATROL, a group that developed an information clearinghouse for data related to pharmacy robberies, burglaries, and thefts that involve the loss of controlled substances.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers of the Inland Northwest at (208) 667-2111 or 1-800-222-TIPS. Information can also be submitted through the group's website, www.crimestoppersinlandnorthwest.org.