BATH
The Walgreens pharmacy on State Road was robbed Friday by two 23-year-old Dresden men, federal prosecutors say.
Nicholas Alexander was arrested on Saturday and Devin Alexander was arrested Monday in connection with the crime. Both have been charged with conspiring to commit a robbery, U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II said Monday.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.
Both defendants made initial appearances in federal court Monday. Nicholas Alexander was ordered temporarily detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday. Additional court appearances have not yet been scheduled for Devin Alexander.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, both defendants took part in a holdup, during which a note was handed to a pharmacist that read, “You have 20 seconds to give me all your Oxycodone 15s and 30s or I will blow your (expletive deleted) brains out,” Delahanty said. As a result, Nicholas Alexander was given a bag containing 11 bottles of oxycodone tablets, police allege.
The investigation into the robbery is being conducted by the Bath Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Lincoln County Sheriff ’s Office, Delahanty said.
He further said that the FBI has agreed to take an expanded role in the investigation of pharmacy robberies in Maine.
Bath Police Chief Michael Field called the investigation “an excellent example of local, state, county and federal law enforcement agencies working closely together.”
Police were also seeking a woman they said may have knowledge of the incident and released a photo of two people they said were suspects in the case.
The entire event lasted only a few minutes, police said.
Police say Walgreens employees reported the robbery at 1:55 p.m. Friday.
After interviewing pharmacy employees and customers in the area, police are looking for an SUV, possibly a Chevy Trailblazer. Witnesses said the vehicle was silver or champagne color.
In 2012, 56 pharmacy robberies took place in Maine — more than double the prior year, with drug addicts taking increasingly desperate measures, said Steve McCausland of the Department of Public Safety. The trend led to a national pharmacy chain to post armed security guards and the establishment of a state panel to identify solutions to the problem.
¦ NICHOLAS Alexander was arrested on Saturday and Devin Alexander was arrested Monday. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.
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