Bandit uses threatening device to steal drugs at Lee County pharmacy

LEESBURG — An unidentified man used the threat of a device that an employee feared to be a bomb Wednesday to steal painkiller drugs from a Lee County pharmacy, officials say.

Employees of CVS Pharmacy on U.S. Highway 19 at Forrester Parkway told the Lee County Sheriff’s Office that, about 8:53 a.m., a “scrawny” white male who appeared to be in his mid 20s and who was wearing an orange mask approached the pharmacist on duty and demanded an assortment of the powerful pain relievers hydromorphone and hydrocodone.

According to the pharmacist, before she could refuse the demand, the suspect lifted his shirt to reveal a “device” fastened to his body with black electrical tape. Concerned that what he was showing her could have been a bomb, the pharmacist complied with the demand for the drugs and the bandit left the building.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office investigator Matt Pearce said the pharmacist and two employees briefly followed the suspect from the business and shot a photo of the getaway car, described as a gray Kia Sorento with an out-of-state license plate. The plate shows white letters and numbers on a blue background, Pearce said.

The robbery was similar to one on March 5 in Americus, Pearce said. In that incident, robber jumped behind a pharmacy counter, demanding drugs and claiming to have a bomb. According to Pearce, that bandit fled in a light-colored van.