Teacher Charged For Robbing Woodbury Pharmacy at Gunpoint

A South St. Paul school teacher faces charges for robbing a Woodbury pharmacy at gunpoint for prescription painkillers. The alleged robbery took place at a Walgreens just before 3 a.m. Monday.

Melanie Sue Parkin, 36, a special education teacher for South St. Paul schools, was charged Wednesday with felony first-degree aggravated robbery and felony third-degree drug possession, the Pioneer Press reported:

According to the criminal complaint:

A pharmacist at Walgreens at 1965 Donegal Drive told police that a woman approached her at the pharmacy counter and displayed a black handgun. She said the woman, who was wearing sunglasses, a dark hat and a dark puffy jacket with its hood pulled over her face, pointed the gun at her and demanded Percocet, a prescription narcotic.

The pharmacist grabbed five or six bottles from a cabinet, prompting the woman to say, “I don’t need all of them.” The woman, who appeared calm, took three bottles and left.

Woodbury police arrested Parkin after she was seen driving near the pharmacy with expired license tabs.

Read much more at the Pioneer Press

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