One of three men charged in the July 2018 armed robbery of Walgreens pharmacy on Missouri Boulevard has entered a plea agreement in federal court.
Jerome King, 19, of Speedway, Indianapolis, agreed to plead guilty to robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
No date was announced for a sentencing hearing, and an assessment must be done before that hearing. King could face up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 for the robbery charge and up to seven years in prison and a $250,000 for the firearm charge.
The cases against Raymond Allen Craig, 20, and Daijahn Antwan Reed, 19, both of Indianapolis, are still pending, court records show.
Along with robbery and firearm possession charges, Craig and Reed still face one count of committing an armed robbery that involved the theft of a controlled substance, another count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and one count of possessing oxycodone with the intent to distribute. King no longer faces these charges under the plea agreement.
Federal prosecutors claim King, Craig and Reed committed an armed robbery July 25, when they pointed a loaded firearm at two Walgreens employees and tied one employee's hands behind his back with zip-ties.
The original Jefferson City Police report said the robbers entered the store wearing surgical masks and rubber gloves to conceal their identities. After tying the cashier's hands with the zip-ties, they forced him back to the pharmacy - then jumped over the counter and ordered the pharmacist to give them prescription drugs. The three then fled the store and ran to a vehicle waiting behind the business.
The federal indictment alleges the men stole $9,264 worth of drugs, including more than 3,000 oxycodone/acetaminophen tablets.
Jefferson City police officers arrived as King, Craig, Reed and another person ran out of the business.
Three of the four men fled the scene in a vehicle. Officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, the affidavit said, but King - who was the driver - led officers on a pursuit eastbound on U.S. 54.
Missouri Highway Patrol troopers deployed spike strips at U.S. 54 and routes AA/OO. King hit the spikes, slowed down and then went out of control, eventually going off the highway and through a ditch before crashing into the front yard of a residence at Platinum Road and Jazel Lane. King and Craig ran from the vehicle and fled into nearby woods but were apprehended. The third man was not apprehended and remains unidentified.
After King and Craig were caught, Jefferson City police got a call from a witness who said a man had knocked on his door and asked to use his phone. The witness allowed the man to do so and reported the man told him he was from Indianapolis and admitted to robbing Walgreens. The witness told police they could find the man on the roof of O'Reilly Auto Parts on Missouri Boulevard, and officers then went to the business and arrested Reed. The witness identified Reed as the man who had used his phone and admitted to the robbery.
Authorities said Reed was the suspect who had been left behind when King, Craig and the still-unidentified man fled from Walgreens as police arrived.
According to the original federal court documents, King first told authorities he did not know a robbery was planned, but when he saw one of his three companions put a mask over his face before going into the store, "he assumed that criminal activity was going to occur."
However, King later told authorities he had entered Walgreens first to conduct surveillance before the robbery, telling Craig how many people were inside the business.
Authorities reported when they recovered a 9mm handgun that was used in the robbery that they found it had been stolen from Indianapolis.