Howard County police say they have arrested the suspects in a Sept. 19 armed robbery of a Jessup pharmacy and the case is connected to a bomb scare the same day at police headquarters.
Roy Lee Moore, 38, of the 7600 block of South Arbory Lane, in Laurel, has been charged with one count of armed robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Also charged was Stoni B. Horton, 35, of the 9400 block of Nicklaus Lane, in Laurel, police spokeswoman Elizabeth Schroen said.
Laurel police, meanwhile, have applied for a warrant to charge Moore with attempting to rob a bank there Sept. 12, Laurel City Spokesman James Collins said.
Moore and Horton are accused of robbing the Family Care Pharmacy in the 8600 block of Route 1. Police were called there Sept. 19 at about 11:57 a.m. and told that a man had entered the pharmacy, displayed a gun and demanded the prescription painkiller Oxycodone, Schroen said.
The man ran into the woods and made off with 2,500 pills, worth more than $600, police said. Police searched the area and found Horton parked next to a wooded area along Pine Road.
Detectives believe Horton was to be Moore's getaway driver and that she was waiting for him, Schroen said. According to charging documents, Horton said Moore is her boyfriend and implicated him in the robbery.
Police seized Horton's vehicle and took it to police headquarters. Officers questioned Horton, but did not charge her immediately. After returning home Sept. 19, Horton contacted police and told them there was a fake explosive device inside the car, which she and Moore had considered using in the robbery, Schroen said.
An officer who peered into the vehicle spotted what appeared to be dynamite, according to charging documents. The building was evacuated about 5 p.m. and reopened about 7:30 p.m. after a bomb squad confirmed the threat to be a hoax.
Horton was arrested Sept. 20 and is now out of jail on $50,000 bond. She told investigators that she and Moore are addicted to heroin and had spoken before the robbery about needing money, according to charging documents.
Moore was arrested Sept. 21 after a traffic stop, and police recovered thousands of prescription pain pills, Schroen said. Moore is being held at the Howard County Detention Center on $250,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 21.