Police Department

SPD/SCSO collaboration leads to arrest of robbery suspects

Sgt. Lydia Taylor, 509.481.8656

Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 10 a.m.

Collaboration between the Spokane Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office led to the arrest of two suspects in connection to several recent pharmacy robberies. 33-year-old Jacy L. Thomson and 35-year-old Phillip J. Powlus were arrested overnight and booked into the Spokane County Jail on charges of 2ndDegree Robbery and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (Powlus) and Possession of a Controlled Substance (Thomson). Additional charges are anticipated.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Detective Ricketts along with Spokane Police Department Detective Turman, were assigned to investigate the series of pharmacy robberies occurring within the City of Spokane and Spokane County since the beginning of January. As part of this investigation, SPD and SCSO shared information regarding the investigations and identified persons of interest in each of the robberies. Additionally, they worked to investigate a connection between the robberies.

Last night, just before 7:30 pm, Spokane police responded to a report of a Robbery at the Albertson’s pharmacy in the 9000 block of Indian Trail. Officers arrived on-scene minutes after the initial 911 call.

Witnesses indicated a white male in his mid-20’s, with a bandanna over his face, had jumped over the pharmacy counter, grabbed an undisclosed amount of prescription medication, and fled.

Approximately 15 minutes after the robbery call, a citizen called to report a number of empty prescription medication bottles on Five Mile Rd. near the intersections of Woodside and Elgin.

As a follow up to this incident, as well as information collected and shared through inter-agency cooperation with SCSO detectives, members of the Spokane Police Patrol Anti-Crime Team (PACT) identified the suspect vehicle (a silver Dodge) described in the earlier Indian Trail Albertson’s pharmacy robbery. The vehicle was stopped by PACT near Division and Magnesium. The two individuals inside, 33-year-old Jacy L. Thomson and 35-year-old Phillip J. Powlus were arrested at that location, without incident.

Jacy Thomson (33) - 5 previous felony convictions

• 4 for robbery
• 1 for theft

Phillip J Powlus (35) - 5 previous felony convictions

• 3 Manufacturing/Delivering/Possession of a Controlled Substance w/ Intent to Deliver
• 1 Possession of a Firearm 1st
• 1 Residential burglary

Detectives believe the incidents highlighted in blue below are connected to the suspects, Thomson and Prowlus. Detectives continue to investigate the three other pharmacy robbery incidents to determine any possible connection.

Pharmacy	Address	Date
Albertsons/Sav-On (*SCSO)	12312 N Division	1/4/2014
Safeway	3919 N Market	1/4/2014
Fred Myer	400 S Thor	1/5/2014
5th and Browne Pharmacy	104 W 5th Ave	1/6/2014
Albertsons	6520 N Nevada St	1/10/2014
Shopko	9520 N Newport Hwy	1/12/2014
Albertsons (*SCSO)	8851 E Trent	1/16/2014
Albertsons	9001 N Indian Trail Rd	1/22/2014

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