Two arrested after attempt to rob Bella Vista pharmacy
Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008
BELLA VISTA - A Bella Vista police officer captured two robbery suspects Wednesday afternoon, shortly after one of them tried to hold up a Bella Vista pharmacy.
Michael Wright, 22, of Bella Vista, and Joshua Peabody, 24, of Centerton, were charged with two felonies: attempted aggravated robbery and possession of a controlled substance, detective Ryan Harmon said.
A technician at Medicap Pharmacy called police about the incident at 2: 36 p. m., according to police reports.
The attempted robbery began when a man handed a note to a Medicap clerk indicating the man had a gun and demanding the store's supply of OxyContin, police reports state. OxyContin is a narcotic used for pain management.
The clerks are used to customers handing them pieces of paper, so the victim didn't realize it was a holdup until she passed the note to a technician, Medicap owner Tom Crisler said.
"(The Oxycontin's ) locked up. I'll have to get a pharmacist and get the key," the technician told the alleged robber.
The man then turned around and left, Crisler said. The technician called police.
Cpl. R. G. Deason was at the Bella Vista Police Department around 2: 30 p.m. when he heard the dispatcher give information about the attempted robbery and a description of the getaway car, Harmon said.
Deason headed north on U. S. Highway 71, watching for a dark sports car. The corporal soon spotted the getaway car and pulled it over on U. S. 71 near Wellington, Harmon said.
The two men in the car, Wright and Peabody, were arrested and taken to the Benton County Jail, Harmon said.
Wright was also arrested on a contempt of court warrant for a misdemeanor from the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
Both Wright and Peabody are waiting for probable-cause hearings and for their bonds to be determined, Harmon said.
Because the case is still under investigation, Harmon would not comment about which man entered the pharmacy with the note. He also declined to say whether the man brandished a gun.
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