Armed robber holds up pharmacy

HURRICANE – A man is in police custody Wednesday after brandishing a firearm and making demands for prescription medication at the Hurricane Family Pharmacy, located at 25 N. 2000 West in Hurricane.

Shortly after 11:30 a.m., officers were dispatched to an armed robbery at the Hurricane Family Pharmacy, where 37-year-old Jonathan Shon Forest, of LaVerkin, allegedly entered the pharmacy, pulled out a gun and demanded prescription narcotics, Hurricane City Police Sgt. Brandon Buell said.

After the man left the pharmacy, pharmacy employees were able to provide officers with Forest’s description and a description of the Chevrolet Tahoe he left in.

Jonathan Shon Forest, of LaVerkin, Utah, booking photo posted March 11, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s booking, St. George News
Jonathan Shon Forest, of LaVerkin, Utah, booking photo posted March 11, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s booking, St. George News

A witness followed Forest’s vehicle and was able to provide police officers with his location.

Officers observed a vehicle matching the description and initiated a stop on the vehicle in the area of 870 W. 400 North in Hurricane.

Forest was found in possession of the prescription medications taken from the robbery, Buell said, and was taken into custody without incident.

Upon further investigation, officers learned the weapon used in the robbery was a black airsoft gun without the red safety tip, which looked identical to a real handgun, Buell said.

Forest was booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility. He was charged with a first-degree felony for aggravated robbery. His bail pending trial stands at $75,000.

“Those involved in this incident did a great job to ensure their safety and provided detailed information,” Buell said. “Based on that information, officers were able to locate the suspect within six minutes of the incident. Again, we are thankful no one was injured in this incident.”

At the time of this publication, Buell said it is unknown if Forest is connected to any of the past Hurricane Family Pharmacy robberies. There is no evidence at this time linking the two incidents, he said.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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10 Comments

  • Billy Madison March 11, 2015 at 5:09 pm

    At least he didn’t break your car window at night and rip the stereo out of your dash to sell at the pawn shop.

    • Mesaizacd March 12, 2015 at 3:28 am

      He would of broken into your car but nobody wants an 8 track

  • ladybugavenger March 11, 2015 at 6:23 pm

    Dang prescription meds. Fine example of why marijuana should be legal.

    • Mesaizacd March 12, 2015 at 3:27 am

      Dang pharmacy robbing tweekers

  • Lastdays March 11, 2015 at 6:47 pm

    Run Forest, Run……….

  • NotSoFast March 11, 2015 at 10:55 pm

    Just looking at the sorry booking picture of Forrest, makes one think that he needs some help-big time. We know he won’t find it in Washington County Jail. Hopefully, they’ll prescribe mandatory rehab.
    If your allowed to read this Mr. Forrest, rehab is the only answer for ya dude.

    • ladybugavenger March 12, 2015 at 5:34 pm

      Mandatory rehab!

  • sagemoon March 12, 2015 at 8:40 am

    Dang junkie. Get help!

  • [email protected] March 12, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    Seems like we could have anticipated this incident thru the use of facial recognition software, predicting these behaviors in advance. Profiling, you betcha!

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