Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian ARMED ROBBERY Watsonville Police search a shopping center on the 1800 block of Freedom Boulevard Sunday after an armed robbery at the Walgreens store on the 1800 block of Freedom Boulevard..

Sometimes, armed robbery does not pay off. A pharmacist was working at the CVS store on Rodriguez Street at about 11:40am on Feb. 4 when a man wearing a ski mask demanded Oxycontin.

But instead of giving the man what he wanted, the pharmacist told the would-be robber that he needed a prescription for such a drug.

The man warned that he was armed with a gun, but standing firm, the pharmacist rebuffed the man and reminded him that he still had to have a prescription to fill the order. 

That’s when the man reportedly stormed off only to try his luck a half-hour later at the pharmacy across town at Walgreens on the 1800 block of Freedom Boulevard.

During that robbery, the robber displayed a handgun in his waistband and demanded some type of narcotic. He then made off with the drugs.

Watsonville Police searched the area in an intense search but no suspect was immediately found. The suspect was reportedly wearing gray pants and a gray shirt. No vehicle was associated with the crime. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Watsonville Police Department at 471.1151, the anonymous tip line at 768.3544, or the Watsonville Police Department Investigations Bureau at 768.3352. It is also possible to submit an online tip.

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Tarmo Hannula has been the lead photographer with The Pajaronian newspaper in Watsonville since 1997. More recently Good Times & Press Banner. He also reports on a wide range of topics, including police, fire, environment, schools, the arts and events. A fifth generation Californian, Tarmo was born in the Mother Lode of the Sierra (Columbia) and has lived in Santa Cruz County since the late 1970s. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz and has traveled to 33 countries.

1 COMMENT

  1. if a robber brandished a weapon asking for oxy, give home the oxy. I don’t think was quick thinking it was not thinking at all!

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