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Tempe Police: Man steals woman’s prescription, seeks rehabilitation

Tempe Police Headquarters (Photo illustration by Emily Johnson/The State Press)
Tempe Police Headquarters (Photo illustration by Emily Johnson/The State Press)

Tempe Police reported the following incident Wednesday:

A 23-year-old Tempe man was arrested July 7 on the 500 block of South Mill Avenue on suspicion of armed robbery and possession of non-prescribed drugs, according to a police report.

While at a CVS, the man pushed a woman to the ground, causing her to drop the prescribed 800mg Ibuprofen that she had just picked up at the pharmacy, police reported.

The man picked up the woman’s prescription and fled up Mill Avenue from the front of the store while the woman he had pushed chased after him, according to the report.

While running away, the man cut into an alleyway, where the woman briefly lost sight of him, police reported.

The woman asked passersby whether they had seen a man running northbound and one witness said he was walking just south of the alley, according to the report.

Both the woman and the witness said that man appeared “extremely sweaty” and tired despite walking and that he appeared to be averting his eyes to avoid contact with the woman, police reported.

The witness and the woman followed the man for a short time until he set off running again, after which the witness caught him and pinned him down until police arrived, according to the report.

The woman did not recognize the man immediately because had had been wearing a navy blue jacket when she first saw him and only a white t-shirt the second time she saw him, though the jacket was located along the path of the man’s attempted escape, police reported.

The woman’s Ibuprofen pill bottle and information were also located near the jacket, according to the report.

During an interview, the man admitted to being at the CVS at the time of the incident, but stated that it was another subject who committed the crime, police reported.

The man also admitted to having an Oxycodone addiction following a football-related injury and said he frequently visits urgent care clinics for additional narcotic medication, according to the report.

When asked whether he attempted to steal the woman’s pills, his only reply was that he is addicted to pain medication and that he needs drug rehabilitation, police reported.

Police are also investigating eight similar incidents in Tempe that relate to the same man, according to the report.

The man was booked into Tempe City Jail and held to see a judge, police reported.

Reach the reporter at aplante@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @aimeenplante

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