A well-known independently owned pharmacy in Oak Park was the target of an armed robbery in the middle of the day on Aug. 22, but the three men who stormed the business appear to have cut and run after snatching only a cell phone.
Three men, one of them armed with a black semi-automatic handgun, entered Sear’s Pharmacy, 1003 Madison St., at 2:40 p.m. and ordered the employees to get on the floor.
Pharmacy technician Ed Collins said he heard the men enter and headed to the back of the business. He said three other employees complied and the robbers began emptying the pockets of one of the employees. They got a cell phone and then inexplicably left the business, fleeing in a getaway vehicle waiting outside.
“I do believe their intention was to get the drugs,” Collins said, adding, “They left garbage bags, so it made me assume they were going to fill them with more than just cash.”
Collins, a lifelong Oak Parker who’s worked at Sear’s Pharmacy for 20 years, said he believes the armed men did not expect so many employees to be in the establishment at the time, which made them decide to abandon the robbery.
“We didn’t feel they were going to hurt us,” Collins said. “They just told us to be cool and relax.”
“I think they were startled that one of us was in the back. I think that’s what made them take off.”
Collins said he called 911 and the Oak Park Police Department responded immediately.
“It all happened very quickly,” Collins said.
A police report notes the incident lasted approximately four minutes.
He said the employees were shaken by the incident, but added that everyone is “OK and we are grateful that no one got hurt and it ended as quickly as it did.”
Collins said the incident has prompted the business to update its security. “It was a wakeup call,” he said. “We don’t have video, but we’re getting it now.”
He said it is the first time the long-time pharmacy has been robbed.
The three robbers were described as black men. The one brandishing the handgun was between the ages of 20 and 30 years old, stood between 5-feet 9-inches and 6-feet tall and wore a black knit cap over his head with holes cut out for eyes, a black oversized T-shirt and black jeans. The second robber was between 40 and 50 years old, stood between 6-feet and 6-feet 5-inches tall, had balding hair and silver and black stubble on his chin and wore a beige zip-up hoodie, baggy jeans and blue latex gloves. The third man was described as having a heavy build and dark clothing.
CONTACT: tim@oakpark.com
