CVS Pharmacy Robbed In Petaluma

PETALUMA, CA — Authorities are looking into whether a robbery Monday night at a CVS Pharmacy in Petaluma is connected with a similar robbery Friday at CVS Pharmacy in Santa Rosa.

Officers were dispatched at 7:56 p.m. Monday to the CVS Pharmacy at 291 N. McDowell Blvd. where employees said a robber had just taken cash and several bottles of prescription medication, the Petaluma Police Department said in a news release.

Store employees told police the suspect, described as a Black man in his 20s, approached the pharmacy door, and when he was told he was not allowed to enter, he grabbed and pushed an employee out of the way as he forced his way into the employee area of the pharmacy.

The suspect ordered two employees to open a cash register and as he removed an undisclosed amount of cash, he ordered both employees to get down behind the counter, police said.

The suspect ordered the employees to open a safe, then he removed multiple bottles of medication from the safe and shelves, police said.

As the robber was demanding the employees open another safe, a third employee approached the pharmacy area and the suspect left, police said.

The suspect was wearing a black beanie, a black hoodie and light-colored jeans, and is shown in a surveillance image.

Police asked anyone with information related to the case or the identity of the suspect to call the Petaluma Police Department at 707-778-4372 or send an email to ppdtips@cityofpetaluma.org.

"We are aware of a similar incident that occurred on Friday in Santa Rosa," police said. "We are working with SRPD to determine if the incidents are connected."

In the incident Friday, two Black men who appeared to be 18 years old jumped over the pharmacy counter at CVS, 2017 Mendocino Ave. in Santa Rosa and demanded cash and pills. A female employee was assaulted during the robbery, Santa Rosa police said.

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