Columbus and Seymour police are investigating whether suspects caught in the robbery of a Seymour pharmacy might be connected to similar robberies in Columbus.
Three suspects, including Cameron Tibbs, 18, and two juveniles, all of Indianapolis, were arrested at the end of a brief chase that followed the robbery of the CVS pharmacy at 201 E. Tipton St. in Seymour about 4:14 a.m. Tuesday, Seymour police said.
All three face robbery and resisting-law-enforcement charges. Tibbs faces a second count of resisting law enforcement. Other individuals, however, also might have been involved in that robbery and are still being sought, Seymour Police Chief Bill Abbott said.
The three also might be suspects in several other robberies of pharmacies in the region, including one shortly after 5 a.m. Monday at the CVS store at 2423 N. National Road in Columbus, the second robbery that has occurred there this year — among three in total this year at Columbus CVS locations.
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In the first Columbus CVS robbery, police were sent Feb. 4 to the store at 4495 W. State Road 46, where a man gave a note to the pharmacist indicating he had a firearm. The man then jumped over the counter and stole an undisclosed amount of prescription medication before fleeing, Columbus police said.
About three months later on June 2, two men robbed the CVS National Road location by passing a note to an employee, leaving the pharmacy with an undisclosed amount of medication, Columbus police said.
Columbus detectives investigating the Monday robbery at the CVS on National Road said three men wearing hooded shirts entered the CVS there, passed a note to the pharmacist and stole prescription medication.
Both of the earlier robberies in Columbus involved males wearing hooded sweatshirts or dark jackets. No injuries were reported in any of the Columbus CVS robberies.
Seymour’s incident began when dispatch received a 911 call about a robbery in progress at 4:14 a.m. Tuesday.
A clerk told dispatchers several males entered the store at the same time. While no weapon was displayed, two of the males made motions as if they had a weapon, Abbott said. They then left the store after obtaining medication, he said.
The description of the suspects and how the robbery was carried out is similar to other recent robberies of pharmacies in the region, Abbott said. Surveillance video also helps link this robbery to some of the others, he said.
No one was injured in the Seymour robbery or the chase that began just minutes afterwards, he said.
While officers were responding to the Seymour pharmacy, they spotted a 2003 Lincoln LS traveling north on Broadway Street in the city without headlights, Abbott said.
Police attempted to stop the car, but the driver, later identified as Tibbs, continued north on Broadway Street before turning east on Sixth Street toward Shields Park, Abbott said.
At that point, the driver lost control of the car, which went into the park and hit a tree.
Police said at least three individuals fled the vehicle on foot into the surrounding neighborhood. Two were caught at the scene while the third was caught about 30 minutes later, Abbott said.
Tibbs and the two juveniles, ages 14 and 16, were taken into custody by Seymour officers.
Abbott said police discovered pieces of a firearm during the pursuit and are asking anyone living around Shields Park and in the area of Broadway or Sixth streets in Seymour to check their yards and shrubbery for additional firearms or pieces of one but not to touch them as they could still be loaded and dangerous.
“We would like to have that firearm,” Abbott said.
Anyone finding a firearm or any other suspicious items can contact Seymour Police Department at 812-522-1234.
A Columbus Police Department detective is working with Seymour police on the robberies and will be looking into the prior robberies in Columbus to see if any are connected, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
Aaron Piper is a staff writer and photographer for the Tribune of Seymour, a sister publication of The Republic. Republic assistant managing editor Julie McClure contributed to this story.
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Three robberies have occurred this year at CVS pharmacies in Columbus.
- Columbus Police Department officers on Feb. 4 were sent to the store at 4495 W. State Road 46, where a man gave a note to a pharmacist indicating he had a firearm. The man then jumped over the counter and stole an undisclosed amount of prescription medication before fleeing.
- On June 2, two men robbed the CVS store at 2423 N. National Road by passing a note to an employee, leaving the pharmacy with an undisclosed amount of medication.
- Three men wearing hooded shirts on Monday entered the CVS pharmacy on North National National Road, passed a note to the pharmacist and stole prescription medication.
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