LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — Livonia police arrested three men after they say they robbed a pharmacy near 6 Mile and Newburgh last Friday.
Police say around 5:45 p.m., a group of masked men entered Ray's Drugs and Medical Supplies and jumped over the counter. Officers say the men assaulted a pharmacist and proceeded to steal more than 100 bottles of various narcotics including Oxycodone, Adderall, and Fentanyl. They also got away with a few hundred dollars in cash.
"I was in the middle of the pharmacy and all of a sudden I hear my name. I turn around and I see two guys that are masked in the middle of the pharmacy," said Dr. Khalil Chahine who owns the pharmacy. "The first thought that hit my mind was 'I just want to ensure that everyone stays safe.'"
After the 2.5-minute raid, surveillance video captured the men driving away in a blue Kia that police would later discover had been stolen at an earlier date.
"They came in with a backpack, so they took one of the garbage bins that we have, a 50-gallon garbage bin, and they started dumping everything that was in the safe at the time, mainly narcotic medications," said Chahine.
Chahine says his pharmacy provides medications for group homes, long-term care facilities, rehab facilities, and retail patients. He says a large amount of their patients are low-income and don't have health insurance and depend on the lower rates Ray's provides to get the medications they need.
The Livonia Police Department says the pharmacists were able to alert their officers of the robbery via a panic button and quickly followed up with a phone call where they gave a thorough description of the suspects.
Within 5 minutes of the suspects leaving the scene, an officer spotted their Blue Kia heading down I-96. The officer activate his lights and siren but when the driver failed to stop, the officer began pursuit.
Police say the suspects exited the freeway onto Schoolcraft Rd. west of Merriman Rd. Officers say the suspects continued to flee, running a red light near Plymouth where they hit a 2016 Corvette. They later hit a Dodge Caravan and a utility pole before the car came to a stop. Police say the drivers of both the Corvette and Caravan reported no injuries.
Police say all three suspects took off from the car following the crash including one suspect who sustained a broken leg during the wreck.
"Once they got out on foot, our officers converged on the area, setting up a perimeter and all three were taken into custody," said Captain Gregory Yon with the Livonia Police Department. "It was just a phenomenal job by the citizens and our officers all around."
Tuesday, 29-year-old Dwayne Brown of Detroit, 23-year-old Quentin Bridges of Detroit, and 19-year-old Alonzo White of Oak Park were arraigned on unarmed robbery charges and larceny of a building.
Police say the pills taken by the men easily held a street value of $150K.
"The contents were typically your Schedule 2 Narcotics which are the narcotics for pain killing," said Yon. "Each pill individually is worth $10-20. What you’ve seen here is probably worth $150-$200k."
Pharmacists at Ray's Drugs and Medical Supplies say they were relieved that police caught the suspects soon after they left the drugstore.
"Definitely I can tell you with certainty that (the medications taken) can lead to some people overdosing and dying. So, I’m so glad that the perpetrators were apprehended," said Chahine. "Our job as pharmacists is to save lives and with our actions, with the actions of the Livonia Police Department, I can tell you for sure that there are some lives that were saved that day."
Chahine says he's now working to increase already existing security measures in the store. Thursday, a security company began installing additional cameras and panic buttons among other things.
Hours before the robbery at Ray's Drugs and Medical Supplies, police in Dearborn Heights say they dealt with a similar incident. Friday, June 16th around 10:30 a.m. police say masked men entered Todd's Pharmacy on Ford Rd. demanding money and valuables. Police say they believe the same group that robbed Todd's also attempted to rob a pharmacy near Warren Rd. and Telegraph but were somehow thwarted.
Police in Livonia say they're now working to learn if the Dearborn Heights incidents are connected to the robbery at Ray's.
"Crime has no boundaries and, typically, if you see similar crimes occurring in various jurisdictions that have the same method of operation, it is the same people," said Yon.
Brown, Bridges, and White are all due back in court on June 29th for a probable cause hearing. Police say additional charges are likely forthcoming.
