Owner Ray McDiarmid said a man entered the store around 9:30 a.m. wearing a black “hood” over his face and a black outfit.
McDiarmid said the man demanded several prescription narcotics, including Lortab, Xanax and Oxycontin.
“We went to the back and I got him a small bottle of Oxycontin,” McDiarmid said. “Then he said, ‘I wanted more than that’ and started grabbing the Hydrocodone and cleaned out all of the big bottles of that.”
McDiarmid described the robber as a slender, white male approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall. He said the offender told him he had a gun and appeared to have one underneath his shirt but never actually took it out.
McDiarmid said the man got away with 10 to 12 500 count bottles of medicine, although many of the bottles were not full. The offender then left the area on foot.
McDiarmid said Dixie Drugs had been broken into before but this was the first time it had been robbed in 50 years.
McDiarmid said police responded quickly after he reported the robbery. Lt. Jason McNeill, chief investigator for the Sylacauga Police Department, said police were continuing to look for someone matching the description of the offender.
“We responded to the scene and spoke with the store owner,” McNeill said. “We were out in the neighborhood, searching in the woods trying to find [the robber]. We were also knocking on doors looking for anyone who might have seen something.”
McNeill said Sylacauga High School was also notified because of the close proximity to the store. He added that others who find themselves in this situation should do their best to get as many details as they can.
“We hope the situation never happens,” McNeill said. “But if it does, try to get the best description possible of the person.”
Jerrie Cruce, an employee at Dixie Drugs for 18 years, came in shortly after the incident. Cruce said she was relieved that no one was harmed during the robbery.
“I’m just glad nobody got hurt,” she said. “You can replace drugs but you can’t replace a life.”
The Dixie Drug Store was a place where we in the SHS Class of 1955 ate safely an off-campus lunch of a hotdog and Coco Cola for 25 cents. Now I read this, and few weeks ago, I read about a gun-toting hoodlum at SHS. This simply won't do.