Gaithersburg man charged with armed robbery of pharmacy

Police in Martinsburg told that Robert O. Bottenfield confessed to Walgreens robbery

June 21, 2012

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A warrant has been issued charging a Maryland man with the February robbery of Walgreens pharmacy in Martinsburg, according to a Martinsburg Police Department news release.

Robert O. Bottenfield, 24, of Gaithersburg, Md., is being held at the Montgomery County (Md.) Detention Center in Rockville, Md., where he has been charged with armed robbery, according to Martinsburg police and court records.

Maryland authorities told police in Martinsburg that Bottenfield confessed to multiple pharmacy robberies, including the one at Walgreens at 101 Forbes Drive, police said.

Police responded to investigate the reported robbery on Feb. 5 at 1:09 a.m.

Police were told that the pharmacy had been robbed of pills by a tall black male who was wearing a hat.

The man presented a note that instructed the pharmacist that she “had 30 seconds to put all narcotics in a bag,” police said.

The note also indicated the robber had a gun and to “Plz (Please) be smart,” police said.

The pharmacist complied with the robber’s demands, which included that she lay face down on the floor before he left the store.

Bottenfield is expected to eventually be extradited to be prosecuted in the robbery case, police said.

Bottenfield is scheduled to appear June 29 in Montgomery County District Court for a preliminary hearing on one count of armed robbery, according to Maryland’s online judiciary database.

Maryland authorities notified Martinsburg police Detective Cpl. S.F. Doyle in May that they had a person of interest in regard to several pharmacy robberies in Maryland and Virginia, police said.

Police in Warrenton, Va., reportedly have obtained warrants charging Bottenfield in a Walgreens pharmacy robbery there, according to FauquierNow.com.

— Matthew Umstead

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