Pharmacy robbery suspect arrested

A man accused of robbing a local pharmacy at gunpoint was taken into police custody Thursday night.

Thomas Gene Johnson, 25, of 850 W. Kelly in Fayetteville faces felony charges of aggravated robbery, theft of property and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (marijuana).

Police say Johnson entered the Medicap Pharmacy, 2818 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., at 9:40 a.m. Jan. 6 and brandished a handgun. He then demanded OxyContin and hydrocodone.

The pharmacist said he gave Johnson three bottles of oxycodone, which is also known by its brand name, OxyContin. Both medications are used for pain. He then walked to the back of the store and dialed 911.

Johnson, who was wearing a baseball cap and a hood with a white shirt over his face, fled the scene prior to officers' arrival.

Police set up a perimeter and tracked the suspect with a K-9 unit for about half an hour, but eventually called off the search.

During an interview with police, the store owner said he briefly saw Johnson's face during the robbery when the shirt fell. He described the suspect as a fair-skinned man in his 20s.

Investigators obtained a still photo from the store's video surveillance and dis- tributed it to the media.

Police received a tip from a confidential informant on Jan. 15 with information concerning the robbery. The tipster identified Johnson as the robbery suspect. The informant went on to tell police that Johnson had been bragging about the robbery and allegedly sold some of the stolen pills in Fayetteville within days of the crime.

During a photo lineup Jan. 16, the victim identified Johnson as the suspect involved in the robbery.

"After that, we found out where he lived and got a warrant," said Fayetteville Police Sgt. Bill Phelan.

Johnson was taken into custody and transported to the Washington County Detention Center, where he was being held on a $100,000 bond Friday. He will make his next appearance in Washington County Circuit Court on Monday.