Pharmacies fight back

OREM — A rash of armed robberies at pharmacies is being cited as the main reason for a change in what drugs are immediately available at some stores.

In an attempt to curb the thefts, Walgreens has pulled OxyContin, a potent prescription pain pill, off the shelves in many Utah County pharmacies. Signs have been posted in some stores alerting customers to the decision.

"Our situation with OxyContin locally is we have removed it from some of our stores," said Carol Hively, corporate spokeswoman for Walgreens. "We don't say which stores have it on the shelves at which moment and which don't. We don't get into the details."

In addition to signs, some stores in Utah County now have security guards who watch the pharmacy, Hively said.

But the precaution didn't stop one man who tried to rob the Lehi Walgreens, 102 N. 1200 East, at gunpoint about 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Police dispatchers said the man walked into the store, declared he had a gun and demanded the drug. However, when the pharmacists said they didn't have any, the man, who was wearing a red hoody sweatshirt, left on foot but was last seen traveling in a "sporty" car.

While drugs can't be dispensed at a moment's notice, store officials say pharmacists will make arrangements to fill prescriptions for OxyContin. How they do that, however, remains secret for security reasons.

"In other parts of the country, other states where we've taken this step, (we) found it to be effective," Hively said.

Police say one Utah County man is responsible for multiple recent pharmacy robberies.

Danny Hooley, 32, American Fork, is accused in police reports of entering pharmacies, telling employees he had a gun and demanding OxyContin.

Hooley was arrested Dec. 23 — the day police say he tried to rob two stores in one night. In all, he's accused of robbing five pharmacies from Lehi to Orem.

During later interviews in the Utah County Jail, police say Hooley confessed to robbing a Lehi pharmacy on Oct. 30. Police say he was also involved in robberies of Smith's Food and Drug Store pharmacies in American Fork on Nov. 13 and Nov. 29.

He told the officers he never had a weapon and only wanted the drugs "because of addiction," according to the police report.

But even pretending to have a gun has serious repercussions, said American Fork Police Chief Lance Call.

"If he says he does (have a gun) we take him at his word," Call said. "He can't get off if it wasn't the real (thing)."

Hooley faces three counts of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; one charge of possession or use of a controlled substance, a second-degree felony; and one count of third-degree felony theft.

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