Concord Man Charged with Robbing Penacook Pharmacy

A local man was arrested last week and held without bail after allegedly attempting to rob a local pharmacy.

Michael F. Baldwin, 30, of Brookwood Drive in Concord, was arrested at 11:07 a.m. on May 9, 2015, and charged with armed robbery, felon in possession of a dangerous weapon, two counts of criminal threatening (use of a deadly weapon), and two counts of criminal restraint, all felonies.

An officer was sent to Penacook Pharmacy for a panic alarm activation around 9:45 a.m. and en route, found out that a suspect, Baldwin, had reportedly left the area in a black vehicle with a New Hampshire license plate with the first three numbers as “333.”

The officer made contact with three employees, two of whom were “visibly shaken and upset,” according to the report. The first woman stated that she saw a man in a green sweatshirt with the hood up, sunglasses, and a brown mask on the lower part of his face, outside and heading toward the store. The woman immediately suspected the pharmacy was going to be robbed and made her way to the panic alarm.

The man then “aggressively” entered the pharmacy and made his way to the counter.

“The subject brandished a knife at (the two women) and ordered them to the floor, as well as waving the knife at customers in the store and (a third employee),” the officer alleged.

Two of the employees complied and got on the floor but one thought she recognized the voice of the man as a relative and “became enraged,” according to the report.

“(She) yelled, ‘Michael Baldwin, you are in deep sh--, get out of here,’” according to the report.

Baldwin, stunned, allegedly ran from the pharmacy into the alley behind the store and drove off in a small black Honda.

Another employee stated that she thought she recognized the voice, too, “but was in fear due to his recent erratic behavior.” When asked, on a scale of 1 to 10, how sure they were it was Baldwin, one woman answered “10.” The other answered “11.”

While the officer was interviewing the employees, Baldwin was picked up at his parents’ house on Brookwood Drive and arrested. The black Honda with the license plate was a loaner car, according to the report. He was arrested and held without bail.

Caption: Penacook Pharmacy on Village Street. Credit: Brian Blackden

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a New Hampshire Patch police report.