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Man Arrested In String Of Pharmacy Robberies

Surveillance Photo

These surveillance photos show the suspect in the Armenia Pharmacy robbery on Aug. 28.

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TBO.com

Published: September 18, 2008

Related Links

• Robberies Date To July
• Surveillance Photos

  Patrick Papach

Authorities acting on an anonymous tip arrested on Thursday a man accused of robbing six Tampa Bay area pharmacies since July.

Patrick Fitzgerald Papach, 33, of 1126 King Arthur Court, Dunedin, has been charged with five counts of armed robbery and one count of attempted armed robbery, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

He was arrested at his home without incident, authorities said.

Papach was booked at Pinellas County Jail and additional charges from Tampa police and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office are pending, Hillsborough sheriff's detective Lisa Haber said in a written statement.

The pharmacies targeted were: Publix, 12139 Linebaugh Ave., Tampa, on July 3; St. George's Pharmacy, 31201 U.S. 19 N., Palm Harbor, on July 15; Publix, 8975 Racetrack Road, Tampa, on Aug. 13; Sweetbay, 13016 Racetrack Road, Tampa, on Aug. 18; an attempted robbery at Armenia Pharmacy, 8338 N. Armenia Ave., Tampa, on Aug. 28; and Target, 900 Eastlake Road, Oldsmar, on Aug. 29.

During the Target robbery, a man wearing a light-colored wig walked up to a pharmacy technician, mumbled something, then took a gun from a plastic bag and pointed it at her.

"I panicked," Cynthia Fillipone said. "I started screaming. I started going towards the back, towards the phone."

Fillipone hid under a table and called 911.

Pinellas deputies said the man implied he had a weapon and showed a note to the pharmacist demanding prescription drugs. In the other robberies, the man demanded OxyContin, authorities said.

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