Robber Targets Fresno Pharmacies for OxyContin

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A young robber is targeting Fresno pharmacies for prescription drugs and police are hoping surveillance photos will help track him down. Police say four pharmacies have been hit in the last three months in the northeast and northwest areas of the city. In all four cases, the suspect walked in with a note, demanding the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin.

The most recent robbery happened at a northeast Fresno Rite Aid Tuesday evening. "He went up to the counter and produced a demand note stating he had a weapon and he wanted OxyContin," said Sgt. David Ramos with the Fresno Police Department.

Fresno police say so far, no witnesses have actually seen a weapon, but they consider the suspect armed and dangerous because the suspect claims to be armed. The drug he's after is a highly addictive painkiller that's also become a popular drug among teens and young adults.

Flindt Andersen, the president and founder of PAIN, or Prescription Drug Abusers in Need, wasn't surprised to hear about the string of robberies. He knows firsthand how addicting prescription drugs can be. "Once you start becoming addicted to it, the body requires it. So they don't care how you get it, or where they get it from, or who they hurt to get it," said Andersen.

We talked to Anderson at New Harvest Church, where PAIN was holding its first support group for parents affected by prescription drug abuse. He believes the OxyContin problem in the valley will get worse before it gets better. "At some point, it's going to reach almost every family," said Andersen.

Police say the suspect is described as a white male, between 20 or 30 years old, who's about six feet tall. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a black baseball cap Tuesday night, along with what are described as prescription glasses.

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