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John Daley ReportingPolice are looking for a man who robbed a pharmacy of Oxycontin. It's the third theft of that drug from a pharmacy along the Wasatch Front in the past few days.
This one happened yesterday in Salt Lake City, the other two were in Provo. Police are wondering if they might be connected.
The drug behind the thefts is Oxycontin. It contains oxycodone, a very strong narcotic similar to morphine. Used correctly, it's a safe and effective pain reliever, but it's also become a medication of choice for drug abusers.
In the past week we've have a mini-rash of Oxycontin thefts, like the one yesterday at the Apothecary Shoppe in Salt Lake City where a man entered the store, demanded all the store's oxycontin with his hand in his pocket, suggesting he had a gun, and telling the clerk it was a robbery.
Det. Robin Snyder, Salt Lake City Police: "There wasn't a gun actually seen, but he did intimate that he had one."
This comes after Provo Police are looking for the person who robbed a drug store twice. Police say a man in his 20's went into this pharmacy last week on both Tuesday and Saturday, demanding Oxycontin. In both cases a man passed a note to the pharmacists.
Capt. Rick Healey, Provo Police Dept: "It was a threatening type note, but the note didn't necessarily threaten there was a gun involved either."
On Tuesday the suspect got away with five bottles of the drug. On Saturday, it was much larger amount. Police are investigating if the same man is responsible for both thefts and Salt Lake PD says its detectives plan to compare notes with their Provo counterparts.
Det. Robin Snyder, Salt Lake City Police: "So they'll be in contact with other agencies to see if they have any similar M.O. similar descriptions of other agencies."
In the Salt Lake case the suspect is described as a white male, 25 years old, 5'10", 160, wearing a black hoodie, a light blue baseball cap with a 3D sports logo and silver rimmed sunglasses with fading amber lenses.
Anyone with information is asked to call Salt Lake or Provo police.
