Details Emerge in CVS Armed Robbery

A 21-year-old man faces armed robbery charges after Tampa Police officers say he held up a CVS pharmacy at gunpoint with the intent of snagging pills.

James Jackson Taylor of 19169 Portofino Drive was brought into custody early Friday morning after a standoff with police and SWAT team members at his apartment. Taylor, police said in an email to media, negotiated with officers for about 2 ½ hours. Since he was believed to be armed and was threatening to harm himself, the SWAT team was called out to the location, the email said.

Taylor was brought into custody after he opened the door to his home, but refused to show his hands. Officers deployed a Taser, the email said.

The crime that led to the arrest occurred around 8 p.m. at the CVS near Taylor’s Portofino Apartments. Police say he walked into the pharmacy, pointed a gun at employees and demanded drugs. When workers didn’t respond quickly enough, police say, two rounds were fired into a wall above the victims’ heads.

Following Taylor’s arrest, police searched his apartment and located the gun used in the robbery, the email said. They also found the clothing the suspect in the case wore and the stolen items.

Taylor was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on armed robbery charges.

Photo courtesy of the Tampa Police Department