Burbank police arrested 25-year-old Thomas Taylor of Los Angeles on Monday, April 7, for armed robbery. Officers stopped Taylor as he was exiting CVS at 511 Hollywood Way around 4:00 a.m., as they were responding to a call about a third attempt by the same suspect to take prescription medication from the pharmacy while brandishing a knife.
The male suspect first displayed a large knife and demanded a bottle of Xanax from the CVS pharmacist on duty at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, according to Sgt. Darin Ryburn of the Burbank Police Department.
In that incident, the female pharmacist ran to the back of the pharmacy and the suspect, described at that time as a male, white and approximately 25 years old, left the drugstore.
Just a few hours later, at 5:40 a.m. on Sunday, April 6, officers were called to CVS for a suspect matching the description of the suspect in the first attempted armed robbery.
The male pharmacist on duty was aware of the attempt from the previous evening. When the suspect approached the counter and demanded a bottle of Xanax, the pharmacist ran to the back of the room.
The suspect, later identified as Taylor, climbed over the gate to the secure area. The pharmacist, fearing for his safety, pointed to the shelf containing Xanax, explained Ryburn.
Taylor then picked up one bottle of Alprazolam (generic for Xanax), climbed over the security gate and walked out of the store.
On Monday, April 7, at 3:57 a.m., officers were dispatched to a theft in progress call at the same CVS, with the suspect demanding narcotics from the pharmacist on duty. When the pharmacist didn’t give the suspect the narcotics, he left the drugstore.
The suspect was identified as the same suspect from the previous two incidents and officers contacted the suspect, Taylor, as he exited the store, said Ryburn.
Taylor was arrested for commercial burglary and armed robbery and booked at the Burbank Jail with a bail of $50,000. Taylor was released on April 8 and is due in court on April 29 to answer the charges.
