Rite Aid robbed of OxyContin

Logan Township police are looking for two men who got away with OxyContin pills during an armed robbery Thursday afternoon.

The pair, dressed in jeans, dark-colored hoodies, knit caps and sunglasses, walked into the Rite Aid at Pleasant Valley Boulevard and Frankstown Road about 1 p.m.

They went to the rear of the store, where the pharmacy is, and one of the men displayed a gun tucked into his pants, Police Chief Ron Heller said.

The men, both white, presented a plastic grocery bag and left the store with an indeterminate amount of OxyContin.

They last were seen heading toward Red Lobster and reportedly got into a silver or gray mid-sized vehicle, Heller said.

After the robbery, the drug store closed temporarily while police investigated.

When introduced in 1996, OxyContin was hailed as a breakthrough in treatment of severe chronic pain because when swallowed whole, the drug could be digested over time to keep a steady rate of painkiller in one's body.

However, abusers found that the tablet produced a heroin-like high if crushed and consumed to absorb the drug immediately.

In mid-July, Altoona police reported that a knife-wielding man stole OxyContin from the Medicine Shoppe at 2411 Eighth Ave. That robbery occurred at 12:24 p.m., police said. No arrests have been made.

Altoona police also have a warrant for David Kennedy, 53, last known address on the 900 block of Fifth Avenue, who is accused of stealing OxyContin in June 2007 from the Kopp Express drugstore on the 900 block of Fifth Avenue. He allegedly used a handgun when demanding the drug.