Mpls. Police Seek Information In Armed Pharmacy Robbery
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities are now offering a $1,000 reward for vital information in an armed robbery of a CVS Pharmacy in Minneapolis.
On April 26 at 9:30 p.m., police were dispatched to the pharmacy, located at 2426 Broadway Ave. W., on a robbery of a business. When they arrived, police learned that two men with handguns entered the business, demanded a large amount of prescription drugs and fled the scene in a vehicle.
Lt. Mike Fossum, of the Minneapolis Police Robbery Unit, described how the men entered the building.
"They came in there with the idea of getting oxycodone and were not going to leave without it," he said. "Whether it took 10 minutes to get it or a minute."
The suspects can be seen in a surveillance video pointing a pistol at a 32-year-old pharmacist. She's unnerved and fumbles with the code. After a couple of tries, she opens the safe and the robbers grab 15 bottles of the painkiller.
"They're criminals and they don't work for a living," Fossum said. "They rip off drug stores and go sell oxy on the streets."
Dr. Gavin Bart, Hennepin County Medical Center's addiction medicine director, said there's been an increased use of the drug.
He said the 1,500 pills have a street value of between $7,500 and $15,000.
"So for the addict, this is a coveted feeling to be able to get it and as a pharmaceutical, it's more pure, more reliable and is also valued," he said.
The suspects are described as black males, in their early- to mid- 20s with medium builds. They were both wearing black hooded sweatshirts, black pants and both had bandanas covering the lower halves of their faces. After fleeing the scene, one of the men accidentally drops his bandana -- an important clue for police.
One of the suspects was around 6-feet-tall and the other was around 5-feet-8-inches to 5-feet-10-inches tall.
The suspect vehicle (pictured below) is described as a white two-door with a sunroof and possibly American made. Witnesses reported that the vehicle had damage on the left side.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Minneapolis Police Department's Robbery Unit at 612-692-8477.
