Man jailed after pharmacy robbery

OREM — A man accused of stealing OxyContin from an Orem pharmacy may be responsible for a string of robberies across Utah County, police say.

A 32-year-old man is in the Utah County Jail after Orem police arrested him Friday night in the robbery of Walgreen's pharmacy. He is being held on $10,000 cash-only bail and will appear in 4th District Court Jan. 2.

Police received a call about 8 p.m. Thursday that a man had demanded OxyContin from the Walgreen's at 763 N. State in Orem, said Orem Police Lt. Doug Edwards.

As he spoke, the man patted his jacket pocket, which the pharmacist worried might contain a gun. The man, who never pulled out a weapon, ran out of the store after he was handed the drugs, Edwards said.

He headed south to Big O Tire, where he took off in a tan passenger car.

Officers tracked down a car matching that description and pulled it over on I-15.

They found six bottles of OxyContin on the man, who, according to a police report, confessed to trying to rob a store in American Fork 30 minutes before.

In that incident, a man entered a Taylor Drug Store at 76 N. 100 East in American Fork and got three bottles of drugs before running out. Employees gave chase and the man, when caught, gave back the drugs, asking them to "let him go," according to the police report.

He was able to flee in his car.

Once at the jail, police say, the arrested man confessed to a burglary at the Albertsons pharmacy on Oct. 30. He said he didn't want to hurt anyone but robbed the store, 760 E. Main, because of an addiction, according to the report.

In that robbery, a man approached the pharmacist and demanded all the OxyContin or "he would shoot up the place," according to the police report.