A Rincon man and his son were arrested Wednesday morning for robbing the Quick Rx Pharmacy in Garden City on Highway 21.
According to news reports, David Skidmore, 55, and his son Nicholas, 24, were arrested at their apartment in Veranda Village on Lisa Street on Wednesday around 4 a.m.
Officers found $30,000 worth of prescription drugs including Oxycontin, Methadone and Xanax. The drugs have a street value of $500,000.
The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Garden City Police Department with the investigation and intelligence gathering. Calls to Garden City police detectives were not returned.
Effingham Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Bohannon said that on Thursday his office secured a search warrant for a storage facility in Effingham County. Sawed-off shotguns and more pills were found there in a room the Skidmores had been renting.
The men allegedly robbed the pharmacy in April at gunpoint around 4 a.m. They wore hazardous material disposal uniforms as disguises, according to the pharmacy owner, Ron Stephens. Stephens also is a state representative.
However, the Quick Rx Pharmacy was not the first robbery for the suspects. Apparently, they had robbed pharmacies before in their native Michigan.
According to George Jurkas, the Muskegon County (Mich.) sheriff, David Skidmore robbed a pharmacy there some years ago. However, Skidmore was never prosecuted because of a lack of evidence.
He struck again a few weeks ago on July 17, robbing the Orchard Pharmacy in Dalton Township, Mich. No one was hurt.
“They’re coming back and forth,” Jurkas said.
So far the Muskegon County sheriff’s office hasn’t issued any warrants for their arrest. Georgia is first in line to press charges. Afterwards, Michigan may extradite the men to press their own charges.
Stephens is happy the case has been resolved.
“I know the tenacity of the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office and the Garden City Police Department,” he said. “I knew they weren’t going to give up.”
His Quick Rx Pharmacy in Garden City is one of seven he owns throughout the Savannah area. In his 15 years of owning the business, he can’t recall any robberies, besides this one.
“The attempt has been made several times,” he admitted. Yet, no one has ever been successful until this time.
His employees were unharmed during the robbery; however, they are still affected by the traumatic event.
“To this day there is some emotional distress,” Stephens said.
One individual had to quit because she could not work there anymore; the rest have undergone counseling.
Stephens has strengthened his security at the store. Cameras are hooked up and working and he has hired some security personnel.
The Skidmore men are being held in the Chatham County Jail. The Effingham County sheriff’s office intends to charge them with possession with the intent to distribute.