Massachusetts Man Charged With Armed Robbery Of East Hartford Pharmacy

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that DALBERT RODRIGUEZ, 29, recently of Holyoke and Amherst, Mass., has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with the armed robbery of prescription narcotics from a CVS store in East Hartford last month.

RODRIGUEZ was arrested yesterday in Massachusetts.  He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven yesterday afternoon and was ordered detained.

According to court documents, this matter stems from an investigation into a series of armed robberies occurring at pharmacies in the greater Hartford area and Western Massachusetts.  During the robberies, an assailant typically brandished a handgun and proceeded to steal large quantities of prescription narcotics.

As alleged in the criminal complaint, at approximately 9:00 p.m. on October 18, 2013, RODRIGUEZ entered the CVS Pharmacy located at 972 Silver Lane in East Hartford, proceeded to the pharmacy counter, passed through a swinging door and approached the pharmacist who was behind the counter.  RODRIGUEZ displayed a handgun to the pharmacist and instructed him to open the safe.  RODRIGUEZ then removed numerous pill bottles from the safe, placed them in a plastic bag and exited the store.

The complaint charges RODRIGUEZ with interference with commerce through threat of violence and conspiracy, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possession and conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute.

Acting U.S. Attorney Daly stated that the investigation is ongoing.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration and the East Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Cromwell Police Department, the Amherst (Mass.) Police Department and other state and local law enforcement agencies.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony E. Kaplan.

Acting U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov