Police in Petaluma, California, are searching for a suspect who stole an undisclosed amount of cash and “multiple” bottles of medication from a CVS store Monday night, according to a local CBS affiliate.
At approximately 7:56 p.m. local time, the suspect forced his way into the store’s pharmacy before ordering two employees to open a cash register and “get down behind the counter” as he stole from it, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. He ordered the employees to open a safe, from which he stole multiple bottles of medication.
The suspect, described as a black, adult male in his twenties, then attempted to get a second safe open, but quickly fled after a third employee approached the scene. Medication was also reported to have been stolen from pharmacy shelves.
Suspect Sought in CVS Robbery https://t.co/qdY9VB85Zq
— Petaluma Police Dept (@petaluma_police) January 25, 2022
For Sonoma County, California, this is the second reported robbery at a CVS store in one week. A similar incident occurred Friday at a CVS location in nearby Santa Rosa, where two men are reported to have jumped over the store’s pharmacy counter, beat a female employee, and demanded cash and pills. (RELATED: Suspects Target Newport Beach Jewelry Store Amid Surge In ‘Smash-And-Grab’ Robberies)
California’s property crime rate increased 7% in 2021 from a 60-year low the previous year, according to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California. The state has been criticized by many for policies pursued by left-wing prosecutors and legislation that has increased leniency in the punishment of property crimes.