Police: Thief stole cash, meds from Petaluma CVS, case may be linked to violent robbery in Santa Rosa

Police in Petaluma were investigating a robbery at a CVS store on Monday night, during which the suspect ordered employees to open multiple safes before taking off with cash and medication from the store’s pharmacy, investigators said. 

Petaluma police seek suspect in robbery of CVS pharmacy at 291 N. McDowell Blvd. on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.  (Petaluma Police Dept. )

It happened shortly before 8:00 p.m. at the CVS located at 91 N. McDowell Blvd.

Investigators said the suspect was inside the store and tried to make his way toward an employee-only area of the store pharmacy. 

When he was told he was not allowed in that area, the suspect then got physical. "The suspect grabbed and pushed an employee out of the way as he forced his way into the pharmacy (employee area)," police said.

He went on to order two employees to open a cash register, took out an undisclosed amount of money, and then ordered the workers to get behind the counter and open a safe, according to investigators. 

He proceeded to take multiple bottles of medication from the safe and from shelves, before demanding an employee open a second safe, police said. 

That’s about the time a third worker approached the pharmacy area, and not long after, the suspect ran off.

He was described as being in his 20’s, wearing a black beanie, black hoodie, and light-colored jeans.

Anyone with information about the case was urged to call the Petaluma Police Department at 707-778-4372 or text ppdtips@cityofpetaluma.org.

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Police said they were looking into whether this case was linked to a violent robbery at a CVS pharmacy at 2075 Mendocino Ave. in Santa Rosa on Saturday. In that incident, investigators said two men jumped over the pharmacy counter and demanded cash and pills from the employees.  

The suspects then ordered employees to hand over cash from multiple registers as well as from a store safe. 

"When the employee was not able to comply, one of the suspects began to violently assault the female employee with his fists, causing her to require emergency medical treatment," police said. That employee was treated at a hospital for injuries police described as non-life-threatening. 

In addition to cash, investigators said the suspects stole "several types of medication." 

Santa Rosa police were seeking two suspects in a violent robbery at the CVS pharmacy at 2075 Mendocino Ave. on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2022.

The men were described as Black about 18 years old, standing at approximately 5’9" tall.  One suspect was wearing a black and gray hooded jacket and black pants.  The second suspect was wearing a black hooded jacket and bleached blue jeans.  

Police said both were wearing masks.  

A reward of up to $2,500 was being offered for information leading to arrests in the case.  

Santa Rosa police called on the public to help identify the men. They said anyone with information about the suspects can leave tips in an online form here, or they can call the department's Violent Crimes Investigations unit at (707) 543-3595.