WATERVILLE — A Waterville man was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with felony robbery and possession of drugs after allegedly robbing the pharmacy inside the Hannaford supermarket at JFK Plaza of OxyContin pills.

Brian Monk, 32, of 5 Clark St., was arrested at his home shortly after the 3:09 p.m. robbery, according to Sgt. William Bonney.

“He was recognized inside the store, so we immediately had something to go on,” Bonney said later.

Bonney would not reveal the amount of OxyContin Monk got in the robbery, but he said police recovered all of the pills he obtained.

He said Monk has a medical problem and is addicted to painkillers. He would not disclose that medical condition.

Before the robbery, Monk approached the pharmacy and gave an employee a threatening note, Bonney said.

“He did not display a weapon; there was a vague threat in the note he provided,” Bonney said.

Officers went to the scene after the robbery was reported and the pharmacy closed the window where the robbery occurred but left another section open for customers, according to Bonney.

Detective Duane Cloutier arrested Monk at his home in the city’s South End at 3:45 p.m., and he was taken to the Kennebec County jail in Augusta.

“He was cooperative,” Bonney said.

He said Monk was known to police but he did not have a serious criminal history

Monk is scheduled to appear Nov. 12 in Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta, Bonney said.

He was unable to post the $4,000 cash bail, which was low because he did not have an extensive criminal history and was not considered a flight risk, according to Bonney.

“It was really quick,” Bonney said of the arrest. “Good work by the employees of the store to be able to give us some good information, good detective work on Detective Cloutier’s part. Unfortunately, it’s something that we’re obviously seeing more and more often — people getting hooked on these hard-core pain meds, and the addiction drives them.”

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @AmyCalder17