Pharmacy employees foil robbery attempt

An alleged would-be robber found a prescription for trouble in his attempt to rob a local pharmacy Tuesday.

Jason Glenn, 33, of Tallassee was arrested by Opelika police at 3:09 p.m. Tuesday and charged with robbery in the first degree after he attempted to rob Thomas Pharmacy after presenting a note demanding Oxycodone, according to Opelika Police Capt. Allan Elkins.

The man walked in to the store and initially looked as if he was going to one of the soft drink vending machines located near the prescription counter, business owner Roger C. Burnett said. But he then walked behind the prescription counter and presented one of the two pharmacists with a note demanding drugs.

That’s when John Klinner, 49, a pharmacist with East Alabama Medical Center who is working at the store part-time, said he was shown the note by his colleague and asked the man if he was joking or really serious about robbing the place. When the man said he wasn’t joking, Klinner said it made him mad.

“Do you think you’re going to rob me?,” Klinner asked, at which point the suspect reached behind his back for something.

“I just reacted,” said Klinner, who tackled the man to the floor as he called out to his co-workers for assistance. Fellow employees Jim Davis, Jerome Johnston and Jim Askew helped subdue the man.

“I think just about everybody in this place jumped on him,” said Burnett. Pam Arant, a technician employed at the pharmacy, Burnett said, was able to get what the man was reaching for as he was pinned down on the floor, which turned out to be a knife.

There were approximately five employees working at the pharmacy at the time of the incident, according to Elkins.

Glenn was taken to EAMC for treatment of minor injuries he sustained to his rib cage during his detainment and will be transported to the Lee County Detention Facility, according to Elkins.

No pharmacy employees were injured during the incident, but Klinner was visibly angry about the incident later Tuesday afternoon.

“To think someone had the nerve to tell me that they were going to rob me,” said Klinner, who says he is grateful for the quick response of the Opelika police and is glad no one was seriously hurt. “I hope this sends a message that Americans are fed up with folks trying to rob and hurt them and are going to fight back.”