Pair of Ohio men plead guilty in pharmacy holdups

Series of violent heists netted drugs, money

Two Ohio men pleaded guilty last week in federal court to their roles in carrying out a series of well-planned armed pharmacy robberies across Western Pennsylvania last year.

Mohammed Jibril, 19, of Reynoldsburg, and Arthur Lee Worthy II, 21, of Columbus, pleaded Monday to multiple counts before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.

The pair admitted that they conspired with Abdulrahman Abdelaziz Jamea of Reynoldsburg, whom prosecutors say was the ringleader in planning the robberies, recruiting cohorts and casing the targets.

Mr. Jamea was indicted in the summer along with Worthy and Jibril following an investigation by the FBI, the DEA and police in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Prosecutors said Mr. Jamea researched which pharmacies to rob, staked out the locations and then carried out the robberies with his crew.

The conspirators hit the Rite Aid in Beaver on Nov. 17, 2018, during which one of the men pointed a gun at the pharmacist while Worthy jumped the counter, asked about the safe and demanded codeine syrup. He then stuffed prescription pills into a garbage bag.

Based on cell site records, agents believe Mr. Jamea was also at the Rite Aid at the time.

The conspirators struck again on Nov. 22, 2018, hitting the CVS on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh at 2:22 a.m. Again one of the men pointed a gun and ordered the pharmacist to open the safe. Worthy again jumped the counter and put narcotic pills into a trash bag. Mr. Jamea was identified on surveillance video entering the store shortly before the robbery, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

As the robbers ran, a red Hyundai Sonata with Ohio registration owned by Mr. Jamea pulled up, and they all got away.

The next target was the Rite Aid in Marietta, Ohio, on Dec. 2, 2018, in which Worthy pulled a gun, jumped the counter and pistolwhipped the pharmacist. He then pointed the gun at the cashier and demanded that he open the register. He got away with $447 before fleeing in a car with Ohio plates. Police found the pistol, which turned out to be a BB gun, in the parking lot.

The bandits then robbed a CVS in Erie on the morning of Dec. 7, 2018, with Worthy demanding drugs and money, and threatening to kill the pharmacist. He jumped the counter and demanded oxycodone and money, then put narcotics in a Foot Locker bag. He also took $410 and fled.

Authorities recovered his fingerprints at the pharmacy.

That evening, the highway patrol in Ohio pulled over a rental vehicle driven by Jibril and Worthy and recovered the Foot Locker bag filled with drugs and $300.

Text messages from recovered phones indicated that Mr. Jamea provided Jibril with the pharmacy’s address and told him where to park. The messages also showed that Mr. Jamea arranged for the rental of the vehicle.

Judge Schwab set Jibril’s sentencing for for April 20 and Worthy’s for April 22.

Both face up to 25 years in federal prison.

The case against Mr. Jamea is pending.