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A night that began with an Oxycontin robbery turned deadly after one of the robbers apparently overdosed on the stolen drug. The robber's accomplice and getaway driver allegedly was his own father, who was with him when he died.
The robber's body was discovered in a parking lot near the emergency room of Davis Hospital in Layton. He never made it inside, apparently because his father fell asleep right next to him in the car.
Lt. Mike Ashment of the Ogden Police Department said, "This is a little bit odd in that it's a father and son."
Ogden police say around 9:30 Friday night, 28-year-old Larry Mitchell and his father, 55-year-old Don Mitchell, drove to the Smith's Food and Drug on Harrison and 12th Street. While Don waited in the car, Larry went inside the pharmacy, demanded Oxycontin and threatened he had a gun.
Lt. Ashment said, "The pharmacist's initial reaction was, he wasn't quite sure if this was a joke or not. He asked him, ‘Are you serious?' And he says, ‘I'm serious.'"
Police say Larry never did pull out a weapon, but the pharmacist complied and handed over the medication. Don Mitchell told police he and his son then used the Oxycontin together.
At some point late Friday night or early Saturday morning, Larry went unconscious. Don drove him to the emergency room at Davis Hospital, but when they arrived in the parking lot, Don fell asleep with Larry still in the car. Don told police when he woke up the next morning, he realized his son was in trouble and went inside the hospital for help, but it was too late.
"I think it's a very good example of how addictive this is and what people are capable of doing when they get that far down the road," Lt. Ashment said.
Ogden police booked Don Mitchell into the Weber County Jail for aggravated robbery.
Layton police are investigating Larry's death. It's unclear whether that investigation will result in more charges.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com
