Three Californians accused of waging an Instagram-inspired pharmacy heist on a Casper Walgreens have all pleaded not guilty and are set for October trials.
Curtis Green, 23, the alleged getaway driver, pleaded not guilty Aug. 8 in Natrona County District Court; while alleged pharmacy robber Charles Jemison, 21, gave his plea Aug. 3; and reported lookout man Joshua Slaughter, 23, pleaded July 19.
Their trials are set like dominoes week after week, with Slaughter’s scheduled Oct. 16, Green’s Oct. 23 and Jemison’s Oct. 30.
The Heist
The cases date back to the evening of May 26, when a figure in a dark hoodie leapt over a Walgreens pharmacy counter in Casper and robbed the case, taking a whole bag of oxycodone and everything in the case.
The robber held something in his pocket that seemed like a gun, according to a pharmacy worker, and demanded all the oxycodone.
But the robber had to crouch down and wait patiently for the delay timer on the safe to expire, says an evidentiary affidavit filed in the case.
Once he finally had all the drugs, he ran out.
Jemison later admitted during a police interview that he was the lead robber, the affidavit alleges.
Wyoming Isn’t Real
Slaughter was also inside the Walgreens trying to distract people during the robbery, the affidavit claims.
He and the robber hopped into a white KIA with dark-tinted windows with Green allegedly at the wheel, prompting a car chase.
Law enforcement agents caught up to and arrested the three men in Converse County, the affidavit says, and found the pills in their car.
When Casper Police Department Detective Schlager interviewed Green back at the Casper station, Green said he’d never heard of Wyoming before, the affidavit says.
“I just feel hella stupid right now, for real for real,” Green reportedly said. “I just feel hella dumb.”
The three friends had gone to high school together in Stockton, California, Green said.
Wyoming Whim
Jemison said the three had been friends had planned to rob the Walgreens because they watched an Instagram video months earlier showing them how to go for the “hydros,” or hydrocodone.
He described landing on Wyoming as a whim, however, saying they punched “Walgreens” into a Google search and the Casper Walgreens site popped up.
They lurked at the west-side Casper Walgreens that afternoon, but didn’t rob that one because it did not have “the vibes,” Jemison said. So they talked themselves into robbing a different store since they’d already driven 15 hours to get to Casper, the affidavit says.
Jemison told police that he didn’t have a gun in his pocket during the robbery, and that it was only his cellphone, according to the document.
During the car chase, he had phone calls with his mother and his girlfriend, he told Schlager.
Baby On The Way
Slaughter was concerned with getting home since he had a new baby about to be born, the affidavit says.
This was his first “quick money scheme” and he hoped to make about $2,000 to set aside for his child.
Car Search
When a police detective searched the KIA, he found a scale, a small pistol magazine, rifle ammunition, the stolen pills, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Police estimate the stolen pills included 2,137 hydrocodone pills, 477 hydromorphone pills, 741 of oxycodone and 244 of methadone. They were worth a total of about $4,715, the affidavit says.
The three face various felony charges, including suspicion of robbery, drug possession and conspiracy to deliver drugs, as well as a misdemeanor charge each for reportedly having marijuana in their getaway car.
Green faces a misdemeanor eluding charge on suspicion of being the getaway driver, and Jemison faces a kidnapping charge for allegedly confining pharmacy workers during the robbery.
Jemison faces additional charges of aggravated robbery, a felony, and felony kidnapping for allegedly confining the pharmacy employees.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
