02-10-03: Man with gun robs Celina store

02-10-03: Man with gun robs Celina store

By MARGIE WUEBKER
The Daily Standard

    The Celina Police Department is investigating an armed robbery that occurred at 6:11 p.m. Sunday at the Movie Gallery, 701 N. Main St.
    The perpetrator, described as a slender white male in his 40s, displayed a silver handgun and demanded money. The man, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, left the store with an undetermined amount of cash after the clerk complied.
    There were no customers in the store at the time and more than one employee, according to Celina Police Chief Dave Slusser. He declined to say how many employees were on duty at the time and whether the store in equipped with video surveillance equipment.
    "The man was in the store a short time before he approached the counter," Slusser said. He would not elaborate further on whether the suspect fled on foot or left in a vehicle.
    Officers responding to the scene processed the video store for evidence and canvassed the neighborhood in search of witnesses. Prospective customers were not admitted for a short time after police arrived.
    "We're asking anyone who may have seen a man fitting the description at or near the video store around 6:11 p.m. to call our office," Slusser said. The telephone number is 419-586-2345.
    Investigators are checking with law enforcement agencies in surrounding counties to see whether similar incidents have occurred there.
    Police continue to investigate an armed robbery Nov. 21 at CVS Pharmacy, 1020 N. Main Ave. A man brandishing a silver handgun made off with an undisclosed amount of OxyContin. He also was in the store a brief time and left in a hurry once the narcotics, valued at several thousand dollars, were placed in a white bag.
    There are no indications at this point that the two armed robberies are linked.
    Police continue to work with law enforcement agencies in communities where similar crimes have occurred in recent months. OxyContin also was the drug of choice in armed robberies occurring in Greenville, Lima and Decatur, Ind.
    Slusser thinks the person responsible for the pharmacy heist may be part of a large group seeking the prescription pain killer that has become popular with drug abusers in recent years.

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