BANGOR, Maine — Two Kennebec County men were charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court in connection with the Sept. 2 robbery of an Augusta pharmacy and the attempted robbery of a store in the same city on the same day.
Dominic J. Pomerleau, 21, of Augusta, and Lance M. Szady, 28, of Gardiner, were charged with two counts each of interference with commerce by robbery.
The men are in state custody on alleged probation violations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Their first appearances in federal court have not been set.
Pomerleau and Szady, who was driving a red car, first went to the Rite Aid on Belfast Avenue in Augusta, according to the complaint. Pomerleau went to the pharmacy counter and handed the pharmacist a note demanding oxycodone and Ritalin.
Before the pharmacist could give Pomerleau the pills, he got spooked when a phone rang and an employee answered it. Pomerleau left the store and got into Szady’s car.
The two then went to the Rite Aid on Hospital Street in Augusta, the complaint said. Pomerleau went to the pharmacy counter and handed an employee a note that demanded oxycodone. He left the store with 300 oxycodone pills.
The attempted robbery and the robbery occurred within 15 minutes of each other, according to the complaint.
Police recognized both men from surveillance videos.
If convicted, each man faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.