A woman who demanded narcotics from a Windham pharmacy two weeks ago has been summonsed to appear in court on a felony charge of robbery.
Rosanna Shirley Spearrin, 20, of 27 Town Farm Road, New Gloucester, is scheduled to appear in Cumberland County Superior Court on Mar. 20 after police searched 44 Maple St. in Limerick where she was temporarily staying. The search turned up a purse and clothing that matched the description given by CVS employees who were eyewitnesses to the incident.
During the Feb. 22 attempted robbery, in which Spearrin is charged with demanding narcotics, Spearrin allegedly threatened to blow up the store with a bomb that she told employees was hidden inside her tan-colored purse.
Police say Spearrin also passed a note demanding the narcotics to the pharmacy clerk. Police say a notebook was recovered at the Limerick residence matching the paper used to write the note.
Windham Police Lt. David DeGruchy said the woman confessed to writing the note saying that she was desperate to get “needed medication.”
“She’s saying she ‘needed’ the medication. I don’t know if she needed it that bad though, threatening to blow up herself as well as the store. I don’t know about that,” DeGruchy said.
Concerning whether CVS employees’ reaction was appropriate given the woman claim of having a bomb in her purse, DeGruchy said the employee who refused the woman’s demands made the right decision.
“You have to look at the credibility of the threat. How many people are going to blow themselves up over narcotics? It was just an incredible claim and they recognized it,” DeGruchy said. “Of course, if they perceived the threat as more legitimate, they would have taken that into consideration. You have to take these things on a case-by-case basis.”
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