Police arrested a Brooks man Wednesday morning who they allege robbed the Unity Pharmacy last week of an undetermined amount of prescription drugs.
After leading Waldo County Sheriff’s Deputies on a brief chase on foot through a wooded area, Andrew Sousa was taken into custody. He then was taken to Waldo County General Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, according to a statement from Waldo County Sheriff Jeffrey Trafton.
Trafton said in the statement that police obtained information that Sousa, 33, was at a campsite in the town of Brooks. A Belfast police dog accompanied deputies during the search for Sousa.
Chief Deputy Jason Trundy said a warrant from a probation and parole officer also was issued for Sousa for violating conditions of his probation.
Trundy said no other charges are pending against Sousa.
Sousa, a Brooks native, is alleged to have entered the Unity store during the afternoon of April 9 — dressed in black with a ski mask covering his face — and to have presented a note to a female employee, demanding he be given medication.
Video surveillance from the store showed the suspect arriving at the pharmacy in a red four-door car similar to a Chevy Aveo.
A warrant for Sousa’s arrest on a charge of class B robbery had been issued by the sheriff’s office Friday afternoon. A class B crime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.
Police said they encountered Sousa on the evening of April 9 in Brooks, where he apparently fled into the woods to elude them.
The sheriff’s office was assisted in the investigation by the public, the Belfast Police Department, Maine State Police, Maine Probation & Parole, the Maine Computer Crimes Unit and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
The investigation is ongoing, Trafton said in the statement.
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