The Mercer Island Police Department is in search of a man in his 20s who discreetly robbed the Mercer Island Albertsons Pharmacy Monday night.
At 8:20 p.m. a man approached the pharmacy counter prescription drop-off area and handed a note to the pharmacist demanding a “common narcotic” drug. The man lifted his outer shirt to reveal a bulge under his clothing on his left hip to imply he was armed, according to the police report.
The pharmacist complied with the note and handed over a bag of 384 tablets. The man promptly left and the pharmacist dialed 911.
Store manager John Gillespie said the narcotics retail for $300, and Mercer Island detectives estimated the street value at about $1,900.
“He was in the store and out the store in two minutes flat,” Gillespie said Tuesday.
There was some conversation between the robber and the pharmacist, but it was pretty minimal, he said.
Albertsons’ surveillance video cameras recorded the incident and the Mercer Island Police are currently running through the tapes for an image of the robber.
Cmdr. Leslie Burns describes the suspect as a white man in his 20s, standing 6-feet to 6-feet-2-inches tall with an athletic build. At the time of the robbery he wore dark sunglasses, a bark-colored baseball hat and a white polo-style shirt with broad, horizontal light-orange stripes.
The Bellevue Police Department also responded to the call with a K9 unit. The search dog tracked the robber’s scent to 76th Street and then the trail went dead, Burns said.
“We only have a handful of these a year,” Burns said of robberies on Mercer Island.
Monday night’s incident was the second robbery recorded in 2010, two occurred in 2009, and three in 2008, according to Mercer Island Police Department records.
Gillespie said Monday night’s robbery was a first for the Mercer Island Albertsons. The store opened in 1978.
Anyone with information about the crime or the suspect should call the Mercer Island Police Department, (206) 275-7610.
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