For robbing the Augusta CVS Pharmacy on Stone Street 13 months ago, an Auburn man was ordered to spend two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Anthony W. Post, 20, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Bangor by Chief Judge John A. Woodcock Jr.

Post was arrested two days after the Jan. 22, 2013, robbery when several family members identified him in photos taken from surveillance videos at both the CVS Pharmacy and a nearby Walgreens pharmacy, which Post had entered first. However, he lost his nerve and left after a pharmacist approached him.

Fifteen minutes later, after his cousin berated him, telling him “You couldn’t do it, could you?” Post then walked into a nearby CVS Pharmacy and demanded oxycodone.

Post pleaded guilty March 12, 2013, to the federal crime of interference with commerce by robbery.

“It was a terrifying crime for the pharmacy employees,” said the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Lowell. He added, “When a person commits this kind of crime, the punishment will be serious.”

Advertisement

As part of Post’s sentence on Thursday, he was ordered to pay restitution of $1,587.51.

Two codefendants must contribute to that as well. They were sentenced in early December.

Stephanie L. McCormick, 23, of Augusta, pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and fined $1,000.

McCormick, Post’s cousin, had accused him of wimping out of robbing Walgreens some minutes earlier and essentially goaded him into robbing the CVS Pharmacy on Stone Street, according to court documents. Woodcock, in a sentencing ruling filed previously, concluded she was leader and organizer of the robbery. He also concluded that McCormick wrote the demand note which said, “Quickly & Calmly put All oxycodone in bag If not I have a gun & will start shooting No Scene!”

Candice Marie Eaton, 26, of Augusta, the getaway car driver, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and aiding and abetting in the robbery and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was fined $500.

The Jan. 22, 2013, robbery of the CVS was the first of several pharmacy robberies prosecuted in federal court after Kennebec/Somerset District Attorney Maeghan Maloney worked out an intergovernmental agreement to try to stem a rising number of pharmacy robberies in the capital. Augusta had nine in 2012, the most in the state. In 2013 there were three pharmacy robberies in Augusta, including one in which the same suspect is accused of robbing the Osco Pharmacy inside the Shaw’s supermarket twice within 48 hours.

Betty Adams — 621-5631 badams@centralmaine.com Twitter: @betadams


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.