Suspects arrested in Troutdale pharmacy robbery

By Shannon Wells

The Gresham Outlook, Mar 8, 2010, Updated Mar 9, 2010

Federico Sanchez Jr.

Contributed photo

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Troutdale detectives arrested a Gresham resident on Sunday, March 7, in connection with an armed robbery on Monday, Feb. 22, of the Walgreens pharmacy in Troutdale.

Federico Sanchez Jr., 21, was arrested at his Gresham home around 3 p.m. Sunday and transported him to the Multnomah County Detention Center in Portland. Sanchez faces allegations of first-degree robbery.

The Troutdale Walgreens, at Southwest 257th Avenue and Southeast Stark Street, was robbed of approximately $3,400 worth of the painkiller Oxycontin. A suspect described as a Hispanic male in his early 20s, wearing sunglasses, dark-colored jeans and a black-hooded sweatshirt, entered the Walgreens pharmacy area and waited nearby until there were no customers at the counter.

Displaying a handgun, he demanded OxyContin. Pharmacy employees handed over the painkiller, said Troutdale Police Sgt. Steve Bevens. The suspect fled out the front doors and east on Stark Street, where a search of the area was unsuccessful.

Bevens credits public feedback – after news reports – with giving detectives information that led to Sanchez, as well as two other suspects they arrested earlier. Brennon Robertson-Leach, 20, of Boring, was arrested and jailed on Feb. 26 on allegations of first-degree robbery. And a 17-year-old girl, a juvenile whose name won’t be released, was arrested on the same allegations on March 3.

The same store was robbed at gunpoint of about $4,000 worth of OxyContin on Nov. 8, 2009. Two days later Troutdale police arrested Sean Mychal Kuiawa, 20, of Gresham, after he agreed to turn himself in.

Kuiawa pleaded guilty in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Feb. 11 to two counts of attempted robbery.

He was sentenced to 30 months in jail, but is eligible for a reduction based on good behavior and time served that could reduce his incarceration time to 24 months.