AUGUSTA — For the second time in just a handful of days, a city pharmacy has been robbed of prescription drugs.
Augusta Police Detective Sgt. Matthew Clark said a man walked into the Stone Street CVS Tuesday and demanded unidentified medication.
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The holdup occurred just four days after a holdup at a North Belfast Avenue Rite Aid less than a mile away.
Tuesday’s robbery occurred when a white man walked into the CVS at 2 Stone St. around 9 p.m. Clark said no weapon was displayed, but other media outlets have reported that police originally said a note given to the clerk indicated the man had a weapon.
“Prescription medications were passed to the suspect before he fled the store on foot,” Clark said in a release.
Maine State Police were called to help track the robber using a dog, but the search was unsuccessful.
The robber was described as a white man in his mid 30s. He was wearing a dark baseball hat, a dark trench-style coat and dark pants. The robber also appeared to be wearing a wig, fake beard and sunglasses.
The Rite Aid robbery occurred around 4:30 p.m. Friday when a man walked into the store at 2007 North Belfast Avenue and demanded prescription medication. He fled on foot and a search was unsuccessful.
The robber was described as a white male in his early 20s and about 5 feet 7 inches tall and 120 pounds. He was wearing a dark-colored, hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and boots. As was the case in the CVS holdup, the robber appeared to be wearing a fake beard and possibly a wig.
The robber did not display a weapon, Clark said.
“Due to the close proximity in distance and dates of these two robberies, investigators are looking at the likelihood that they are connected,” Clark said.
It is the second time this year that the two pharmacies have been connected by robberies. The Stone Street CVS was robbed on Feb. 13, exactly a week before the Feb. 20 robbery of the Rite Aid Pharmacy on North Belfast Avenue.
Carmine Fazzi, 19, of Augusta, has been charged with robbery in connection with the February burglaries. Fazzi, who was arrested earlier this year in New York on unrelated assault charges, returned to Maine on Friday. Fazzi, who on Monday made his initial appearance in Kennebec County Superior Court, remains behind bars in lieu of $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 in property.
Assistant District Attorney Steve Parker said in a written court document that the alleged robber claimed to have a handgun during the CVS and Rite Aid robberies.
Daniel Rines, 18, of Pittston, has been charged in connection with the Rite Aid robbery. An assistant district attorney said Monday that an arrest warrant was out for a teenage boy also believed to be involved.
Augusta police have said that Rines denied entering the store and admitted being the driver at the Rite Aid robbery.
In both robberies, two people, identified as males in their teens or early 20s demanded medication from pharmacy clerks, police said.
Grant said Fazzi got 415 oxycodone pills from Rite Aid and an undisclosed amount of 5-milligram oxycodone pills from CVS.
Clark asked anyone with information on the robberies that occurred Friday or Tuesday to call the Augusta Police at 626-2370.
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