Philly man sent to prison for robbing pharmacy
Theodore Jackson stole prescription medications at gunpoint at Lower Merion Pharmacy
NORRISTOWN >> The daytime robbery of a pharmacy in Lower Merion Township during which the pharmacist and his coworker were threatened with a gun has landed a Philadelphia man in prison for up to three decades.
Theodore Jackson, 44, of the 5800 block of West Girard Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 15 to 30 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to two counts of felony robbery and one count of person not to possess a firearm in connection with the January 30, 2023, armed holdup at Parvin’s Pharmacy in Lower Merion.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, ordered Jackson to have no contact with the victims and to stay away from the pharmacy. The sentence included consecutive terms to reflect that there were two pharmacy employees present at the time of the robbery.
Assistant District Attorney
Bradley Deckel sought the lengthy prison sentence against Jackson.
“This was a blatant daylight gunpoint robbery of a pharmacy where the people were just at work. It was callous and an extremely dangerous situation to put upon these two victims,” said Deckel, adding the victims were traumatized by the incident.
With the gun charge, authorities alleged Jackson had a prior criminal record, including for robbery, which prohibited him from possessing or owning a gun.
“He’s a danger to the community,” Deckel said.
The investigation began about 9:32 a.m. on Jan. 30 when Lower Merion police responded to the pharmacy located at 30 North Bryn Mawr Avenue for the report of a robbery in progress. The pharmacist told arriving officers that the business had been robbed at gunpoint by a man wearing a green shirt, black cargo pants and a black N95 COVID-style mask, according to the criminal complaint filed by Lower Merion Police Officer Daniel Gilbert.
The pharmacist told investigators he was viewing a computer screen when he heard his female coworker scream and he turned around and saw a man, later determined to be
Jackson, “pointing a handgun in their direction” and ordering them to the floor, according to court papers.
“Jackson then pulled (the coworker) up from the floor and placed her in a headlock at which time he pointed the gun at upper body,” alleged Gilbert, adding Jackson then threw a pull string bag to the pharmacist and said, “You do it, all the Percocet.”
The pharmacist complied and placed the medication in the bag and Jackson then said, “syrup,” after which the pharmacist put a bottle and a half of codeine syrup in the bag, police said.
After Jackson took possession of the medications he ordered the two victims into a bathroom and ordered them to stay in there for 10 minutes and not to call anyone, adding, “I’m not playin” before he fled from the store, according to the criminal complaint.
After a few minutes, the victims exited the bathroom and the pharmacist called 911.
Police said Jackson stole Percocet, Oxycontin, Xanax and codeine syrup with a total value of $1,534.
Investigators obtained video surveillance footage that showed Jackson arriving at the pharmacy in a black Lincoln MKS sedan with distinct chrome around the window frames.
Court documents indicate investigators used a stationary automated license plate reader on Lancaster Avenue to link the Lincoln sedan to Jackson.
Additional video surveillance footage uncovered that Jackson had been in the pharmacy two days earlier on Jan. 28 and left without making a purchase. Authorities alleged Jackson had been casing the pharmacy in preparation for the Jan. 30 holdup.
Several days after the robbery, on Feb. 3, the automated license plate reader system alerted authorities that Jackson’s vehicle was traveling westbound on Lancaster Avenue in the Wynnewood section of Lower Merion. Police responded to the area and observed the sedan parked next to Tepper Pharmacy in the 300 block of East Lancaster Avenue.
Jackson was observed exiting the vehicle wearing a black mask, and walking toward Tepper Pharmacy and he was taken into custody by officers.
“This was solved with that technology. Lower Merion was very thorough in the investigation and when they got that hit with (the license reader) they acted as a team, as a unit, and were able to quickly converge on the defendant and arrest him before he could hurt anyone else,” Deckel said. “It was great teamwork, they were able to arrest him and get him off the streets quickly.”
The stolen drugs were not recovered, according to authorities.
Other charges of possessing an instrument of crime, possession of controlled substances, receiving stolen property, simple assault, terroristic threats and false imprisonment were dismissed against Jackson as part of the plea agreement.