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Man charged in pharmacy robberies

The Clearwater resident threatened pharmacists at two CVS stores, police say. A tip led to his arrest.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published September 23, 2006

LARGO - Acting on a tip, police say they found a man Tuesday suspected of robbing two CVS pharmacies of thousands of dollars worth of powerful painkillers.

Dustin Noonan, 22, was arrested at his home in Clearwater and charged with armed robbery, authorities said.

The most recent heist took place Sept. 14 at the CVS Pharmacy at 4000 East Bay Drive, according to police.

Just after midnight, Noonan went into the store and jumped over the pharmacy counter, Largo authorities said. He told the pharmacist that he had a knife and demanded that she open the safe.

Noonan got away with four different types of prescription drugs, including oxycodone and Fentanyl patches, police said. The store's surveillance camera picked up Noonan's image as he exited the store.

After watching the tape, detectives determined it was the same person they had seen when watching footage of a CVS robbery in July.

The footage, taken from a robbery on July 5 at the CVS at 13990 Walsingham Road, showed Noonan entering the store, police said. Once inside, he pulled a knife on the pharmacist and demanded drugs from the safe.

Detectives say Noonan was the robber in both incidents. He got away with more than $5,000 in drugs in each holdup, said Sgt. Edward Sohoski. Detectives found Noonan after getting a tip.

"All the media attention on the 14th helped us a great deal," Sohoski said.

Tuesday afternoon, detectives showed up at 1909 Elliot Drive, a house where Noonan rents a room. When they pulled up to the home, they saw Noonan walking out of the house, Sohoski said.

After arresting Noonan and searching the home, detectives said they found numerous pills, clothing worn in the first robbery and a large amount of cash. The amount of money was not disclosed by the police.

Noonan has been charged with armed robbery. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of $100,000 bail.

[Last modified September 23, 2006, 06:37:00]