Columbus man arrested after robbing an Edinburgh pharmacy

Man arrested after robbing pharmacy

A Columbus man was arrested after he threatened an employee at an Edinburgh business and stole money from multiple cash drawers.

Jose Manuel Irizarry Rivera, 35, was arrested on charges of robbery, theft and possession of a controlled substance after the incident on Sunday morning.

Edinburgh police were called to a report of a robbery in progress at the CVS Pharmacy, 15622 N. State Road 79, about 8:20 a.m.

An employee of CVS told an officer that Irizarry Rivera walked into the store and looked at pre-paid cell phones. He then walked over to the employee, said he had a gun and ordered the employee to open the office door, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Bartholomew County.

The employee said she never saw a gun, but believed that he had a gun, the report said. The employee opened the office door and ran to lock the front doors and check on customers in the back of the store, according to court documents.

When she went back to the front to call police, Rivera unlocked the front doors and fled. He had taken an undisclosed amount of money from several cash drawers that were stacked in the office, court documents said.

Officers found Rivera at a nearby station. Police found 11 pills in his vehicle that were classified as a controlled substance.

Rivera, of 5212 S. Lincoln Village Dr., was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail, where he was held on $27,500 bond.