Pharmacist robbed at gunpoint

SPRING VALLEY — A white male displayed a handgun to the pharmacist at Johnson’s Pharmacy in Spring Valley shortly before closing Thursday evening, and then fled the scene with an unspecified amount of prescription medication.

Spring Valley Police Chief Kevin Sangston said the man was described as 30 to 40 years of age, about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, with blond hair and wearing a tan jacket and pants. He entered through the front door of the store, located at 203 E. St. Paul St. shortly before the store’s 6 p.m. closing time.

The man displayed the gun to the pharmacist and demanded prescription medication. After receiving the medication, the armed robber ordered the pharmacist to lay down on the floor and then fled the pharmacy in a vehicle, possibly in a tan sedan.

The pharmacist called 911 and Spring Valley Police responded at 5:56 p.m. Also on the scene were the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department, Peru Police Department, and the Illinois State Police.

Sangston said no one else was in the store at the time of the robbery, and there were no injuries.

This is the second armed robbery of a pharmacist in Spring Valley in five months. In October 2009, a 20-year-old white male took two boxes of prescription narcotics from the pharmacist at Thompson’s Drug Store at knife point. The robber was never apprehended.

Sangston said the investigation is ongoing, and investigators are looking at similarities between the two cases, as well as another case in Princeton about a year ago.

“The details aren’t totally similar, but since they also involved prescription medications, it’s definitely raised suspicions,” Sangston said

Anyone with information is asked to call Spring Valley Police Department at (815) 663-2351, or Illinois Valley Crime Stoppers at (800) 340-4045. A cash reward up to $1,000 is available for information leading to an arrest.

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