Off-duty officer helps nab robbery suspect

An off-duty police officer helped catch a man suspected of robbing a Rite-Aid Pharmacy on Friday.

Store personnel at 2202 Danville Road S.W. called police at 7:10 p.m. after a man in a camouflage jacket came behind the pharmacy counter and, with his hand in his coat pocket, pointing at the pharmacist as if he had a gun, police said. The man demanded prescription pills.

The pharmacist obliged, and the man left on foot.

Having heard the robbery report, Officer Jerry Holmes helped police set up a perimeter around the store area and saw the man at Regency West Apartments.

Holmes, who was in uniform for an off-duty security job, detained the suspect, identified as Russell Ramey, police said.

Police found Ramey with pills matching the description from Rite-Aid. The pharmacist also identified Ramey as the robber.

Ramey, 45, of 1715 Carridale St. S.W., Apartment 62, faces the charge of pharmacy robbery, a class C felony.

If convicted, he would face a minimum 10-year sentence with no chance of parole or probation.

Paul Huggins

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