BUCKSPORT, Maine — Police are searching for a local resident who is accused of robbing the Rite Aid pharmacy around noon Sunday.
The suspect has been identified as Phillip C. Russell of Bucksport, according to the Bucksport Police Department. He is accused of entering the store shortly after noon and demanding a prescription drug from the pharmacist. He was given the drug and then immediately left, police indicated Monday in a prepared statement.
“Russell was observed leaving the scene by Rite Aid employees in a white, 2007 GMC pickup displaying Maine commercial registration 7A431,” according to the police department’s news release. “He was last seen traveling east on Route 1 towards the Bucksport-Orland town line.”
Officers with the local police department and with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department responded to the store, located on Route 1 near the intersection with Route 46. Police were provided with a description of the suspect as a white male in his 30s and bald.
Police said no weapon was displayed during the robbery, but they are not sure whether the robber was unarmed.
“At this time, Russell has not been located,” police said in the statement. “If anyone knows the location of Phillip C. Russell, please contact your local law enforcement agency immediately.”
According to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, pharmacy robberies have been down in the past two years after there was a record high of 56 in 2012. There were only 13 in 2013, but with the robbery Sunday in Bucksport, there have been 20 so far this year.
