Watch CBS News

Police Probe Moon Township, Uniontown Drug Store Robberies

MOON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Police in Moon Township and in Fayette County are investigating a pair of drug store heists within three hours of each other.

Both robberies were strikingly similar. The first, about 10 p.m. Thursday, occurred at the Walgreens Pharmacy on University Boulevard in Moon.

The phone rang in the pharmacy at closing time; the caller told an employee to go to the safe, remove the OxyContin pills, place them in a bag and then put the bag in the drawer under the drive-thru window.

Forty miles away from Moon, around 1 a.m. Friday, someone called the Walgreen Pharmacy in Uniontown with a similar demand.

Detective Donald Gmitter, of the Uniontown Police Department, said the caller told the pharmacist he had a gun, and ordered him to place thousands of Oxycodone pills in a bag and send the bag out by way of the drive-thru window.

Gmitter said the street value of the highly addictive pills was about $100,000.

Dr. Neal Capretto, of Gateway Rehabilitation Center, told KDKA-TV that he was not surprised by the two robberies because "there's a tremendous demand, and thousands of people are addicted to these drugs in our area alone."

The only description of the suspect came from Uniontown, where he was described as having a thin build and wearing a dark hoodie.

RELATED LINKS:
Thousands Of Dollars In Pills Taken At Uniontown Pharmacy (6/29/12)
More Moon Township News
More Uniontown News

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.