Man threatens Jackson pharmacy with bomb, takes drugs

Just before noon Tuesday a tall, slender man wearing a green sweat shirt, black pants and a stocking over his face walked into Horst Pharmacy in Jackson and announced that he had a bomb in his duffel bag, Jackson police said.

The suspect got away with an undisclosed amount of prescription drugs from the store on 2705 E. Jackson Blvd.

Jackson Lt. Rodney Barnes said the suspect, who appeared to be in his 30s, handed a clerk a bag and demanded she fill it with several specific prescription drugs. The suspect got away with the drugs, but did not demand any cash. He was seen leaving on foot headed toward the back of the pharmacy building. He did not display a weapon, and no one was injured.

"We're working on some leads," Barnes said. "We'll be working until we solve it."

No customers were in the store at the time, said pharmacy owner Steve Horst, who said he didn't think the suspect had been in the store before. In the 23 years he has been in business, Horst said, his store was burglarized once in the 1980s.

While he didn't want to be specific about how he plans to protect his property against future incidents, Horst said, "we will have a few new surprises for them."

No one from any of the neighboring businesses witnessed the incident, although it happened in a busy location in broad daylight. Horst said it took the suspect perhaps five minutes to get the drugs and leave. People in neighboring businesses said they did not notice anything out of the ordinary.

"People are driving down the road," Horst said. "If you had your hands up, somebody would notice. If you don't have your hands up, they probably don't."

The pharmacy was closed for several hours Tuesday afternoon.

Police declined to say what drugs were taken.