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Sandra Yi ReportingPolice are investigating a rash of pharmacy robberies in the Salt Lake Valley. In each case, the suspect hands the worker a note and demands the prescription painkiller Oxycontin. One man might be behind them all.
Midvale Police have a patrol car in the back of one store to deter any would be robbers. The store is one of several that was hit. The latest hit was at a store in Draper this morning.
Store surveillance video captured the stocky suspect walking in to the Draper Walgreens at 8:32 this morning. Moments later he walked by the pharmacy window, then returned and patiently waited for help.
He doesn't say much and let's a note do all the talking.
Sgt. Gerald Allred: "The note basically says, 'I have a weapon and I want Oxycontin.'"
The man appeared to be anxious. At one point, he grabbed his keys and held them in his right hand.Then he grabbed the prescription drug and walked away.
Sgt. Gerald Allred, Draper Police Dept.: "He's been very calm. That gives us the impression of someone who has done this before."
In fact, police believe this is the same guy behind a string of robberies at Walgreens pharmacies across the Valley, including one in South Jordan.
Lt. Dan Starks, South Jordan Police Dept.: "One of his standard pieces of equipment is a black baseball cap."
Cameras at a West Valley Walgreens store show a suspect in what appears to be the same baseball cap. A store in West Jordan was also hit, two weeks ago.
Capt. Gary Cox, West Jordan Police Dept.: "We're working with other agencies to compare notes and continue our investigation, if it's the same person or not."
If it is the same person, he's bold. After the robbery in Draper, a man matching the suspect's description hit the South Jordan store for the second time this week. This morning, workers recognized him and called police, but he got away.
Lt. Dan Starks: "It tells me he's getting pretty brash, pretty brazen."
Police don't know if the man is using or selling the drug, but they suspect both.
Sgt. Gerald Allred: "Individuals that are intoxicated on those kind of drugs can be dangerous, especially if they haven't had them for a while, and they're desperate to get them, so it's a concern. We want to grab this guy and get him off the street."
The man claims to have a gun, but no one has seen a weapon. If you recognize the man in the video, or if you saw him leaving the Walgreens store in Draper this morning, call police.
