'OxyContin bandit' guilty of aggravated robbery

PROVO — An American Fork man who supported a drug habit by robbing Utah County pharmacies has pleaded guilty to several felony charges.

In court Tuesday, Danny Hooley, 32, wiped away tears as he entered his plea to three aggravated robbery charges and one robbery charge.

Hooley, who was given the nickname the "OxyContin Bandit," eluded police for several months late last year. He was accused of robbing pharmacies from Lehi to Provo, said Deputy Utah County Attorney Sherry Ragan.

Police said circumstances were similar in each case. Hooley would walk into the drug store, sometimes in disguise, and would demand OxyContin from workers. He kept his hand in his pocket, leading pharmacy employees to believe he had a gun.

He would often issue threats, saying he would "shoot the place up" or that the workers had "30 seconds" to get the drugs, Ragan said.

Family and friends who came to support Hooley sat quietly during the hearing.

After the proceeding, they said that OxyContin is an "awful drug" and that Hooley is a "good person."

Along with the first-degree felony aggravated robbery charges, Hooley also pleaded guilty to one second-degree felony of robbery in exchange for a dismissal of other charges.

Defense attorney Debbie Hill also asked Judge Steven Hansen to agree to the sentencing agreement she had reached with government prosecutors.

"The state has agreed to concurrent sentencing," she said. "Although they are aggravated robberies — the state alleged the threat of a weapon, the gesture of a weapon — there was never a weapon present. That's an important distinction which makes my client deserve concurrent (sentencing)."

Concurrent sentencing means the charges could be served at the same time, rather than one after the other.

A first-degree felony carries the potential of five years to life in prison. A second-degree felony could mean one to fifteen years in prison.

Hooley will be sentenced May 29 after a review by the office of Adult Probation and Parole.

He was arrested Dec. 23 in Orem after he tried to rob an Orem Walgreens. Earlier that same night he tried to rob a Taylor Drug Store in American Fork. The clerks chased him and stopped him but let him go when he agreed to drop the drugs.

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