BANGOR, Maine — The Waterville man who robbed a Newport pharmacy on March 31 and turned himself in to the police the next day pleaded guilty to a federal charge Thursday.
James J. Senior, 39, originally charged in state court, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery in U.S. District Court.
A sentencing date has not been set.
By pleading guilty, Senior admitted that about 3:45 p.m. March 31, he went into the Rite Aid in Newport and gave pharmacy employees a note demanding oxycodone.
“The note threatened that the employees would be harmed if they did not comply,” the prosecution version of events to which he pleaded guilty said.
The pharmacist gave Senior three bottles that contained oxycodone and hydrocodone-ibuprofen pills, the documents said. When he turned himself in to Waterville police, Senior said he kept the oxycodone pills and threw away the other.
Officers found three discarded pill bottles near the Interstate 95 southbound on-ramp, a short distance from the pharmacy, according to a previously published report.
Senior faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He also could be ordered to pay restitution.