Published: September 03, 2008 08:40 am            

Pharmacy robbed at gunpoint

Police seek robber of Windham Drug

By Sean Bailey / Staff Writer

Warren Gardner had just gotten off the phone in his office Tuesday afternoon when he heard the door chime at Windham Drug store.

At first he thought it was a new customer.

“I heard my employee say, ‘Hello how can we help you?’ and then the next thing I heard her say was ‘Oh my God,’” said Warren Gardner owner and pharmacist of Windham Drug.

Gardner said his employee came into the back room and told him there was a man with a gun demanding OxyContin. Gardner dialed 911 and grabbed a gun he keeps at the pharmacy for protection.

“I realized that this man has no clue that I’m back here ... and I can’t let this all go down” Gardner said.

Gardner said he emerged from the office with the gun drawn at the robber. The robber then aimed a semi-automatic handgun at Gardner.

In the heat of the moment, Gardner’s employee inadvertently took a step into the line of fire.

“I just thought, OK, this isn’t worth it ... I wasn’t going to take the chance of my employee getting hurt,” Gardner said.

The robber ordered Gardner to put the gun down and get on the floor, to which Gardner complied. Gardner and his employee were then ordered at gun point to bag up the OxyContin and to follow the robber to the entrance.

Once at the entrance, the robber left after threatening to shoot if Gardner or his employee followed.

Williamsburg Police Detective Wayne Bird said Gardner and his employee described the suspect as a white male, 25 to 30 years old with blonde hair just over his ears. At the time of the robbery the suspect was wearing a navy blue baseball cap, a maroon T-shirt with “some kind of white writing” and tan cargo pants.

Windham Drug is located in southern Williamsburg on 25W, and Bird said from Gardner and his employee’s accounts it appears that when the suspect left the scene he headed north on foot.

Bird said a police dog traced the suspect's scent to a car parked near a Save-A-Lot.

“We got a pretty good description of the vehicle from witnesses,” Bird said.

Police will also be analyzing surveillance footage from near-by businesses to see if the cameras captured the suspect on film.

After police gathered evidence, Gardner said he re-opened the pharmacy, and will maintain regular hours.

Gardner wouldn’t say whether or not he would have fired the gun at the robber if his employee was in a safe position — it’s a decision that he said he would rather keep private.

“This is really just not a good way to start off the week,” Gardner said with a slight laugh.

If you have any information on the Windham Drug store robbery, you are asked to contact Det. Wayne Bird at the Williamsburg Police Department at (606)549-6038.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.