The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department currently has a man in custody for the string of CVS Pharmacy robberies that occurred over this past year – including the Feb. 7 robbery of the Oxford Township CVS Pharmacy in the Oxford Mills strip-mall.
Elgin Richard Marion, 31, of Detroit, was arrested after attempting to rob a CVS Pharmacy in the city of Ferndale. Officers with the Ferndale Police Department were able to get an accurate description of the perpetrator and his vehicle from witnesses immediately after the crime. They tracked the suspect down, and were able to apprehend him after a high speed chase that ended in Marion crashing his car.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Detective John Robertson, stationed in the Oxford Substation, heard about the story and contacted the Ferndale Police Department for more information and a mug shot. After determining that Marion was a match for the Oxford CVS robbery, Robertson set up a live line-up.
“We had two of the three witnesses from that night positively ID Marion,” stated the detective.
Marion is accused of reportedly robbing the Oxford Township CVS Pharmacy with a small caliber, semi-automatic hand-gun and allegedly stealing approximately $4,000 in cash. According to reports, the robber approached the pharmacy after closing while three employees, a man and two women, were heading to their cars.
The suspect supposedly forced the three individuals back into the store at gun point, had the women lay down in the store’s office and the manager fill a bag with cash from the safe. At one point, the manager claims the robber ordered him to hurry up or he would shoot him.
The robber then had the manager join the two women on the floor and pulled the office phone cord from the wall. None of the CVS employees saw how the man left, since they were all too scared to move after the experience.
Marion has been charged with three counts of armed robbery in relation to the Oxford CVS robbery. He may face future charges from separate police agencies – in St. Clair County, Macomb County and Wayne County – since there were several other robberies associated with this crime spree.