Robbery suspect allegedly confesses

SANDPOINT — Bail is set at $100,000 for an admitted prescription drug addict who allegedly committed a strong-arm robbery at a Sandpoint pharmacy on Wednesday.

Judge Debra Heise sustained Zachariah David Lindberg’s bail on Thursday and appointed a public defender to represent him.

Lindberg, according to charging papers, entered the White Cross pharmacy on Wednesday, claimed he had a gun and threatened to kill everyone if they did not meet his demand for OxyContin, a powerful painkiller.

Lindberg fled from the pharmacy on foot, but was apprehended behind the Bonner County Administration Building 10-15 minutes later, Sandpoint Police said. Several bottles of the opioid pharmaceutical were found in his possession.

Lindberg, 22, initially claimed a subject came running down the street he was on and handed him the medications. He subsequently recanted the statement and admitted committing the heist, a police report said.

Pharmacy personnel told police Lindberg came to the store a couple of hours before the 5 p.m. robbery, inquired about heartburn medications and left. He returned dressed in different clothes and nervously browsed vitamins before moving behind the counter, where he was confronted by an employee.

Lindberg made the threat and reportedly demanded to know the location of the pills.

Lindberg, a former Las Vegas resident who lists a Careywood address in court documents, said he was unarmed and the threat of bloodshed was hollow, the report indicated. Lindberg told police he became addicted to painkillers after being shot accidentally by a friend more than a year ago, the report said.

Lindberg reportedly told police he ditched his coat in a garbage can at an unspecified location after leaving the store. Police were actively seeking the garment, in addition to a pair of gloves and watch cap, on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old pharmacy worker whom Lindberg allegedly threatened was the same employee who was confronted by an armed robber at the White Cross in Priest River in October 2008, court records indicate.

Daniel Patrick Hawkins, 23, of Diamond Lake, Wash., pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced earlier this month to five to 10 years in prison. Jurisdiction was retained, which means Hawkins could be released on probation after serving six months of the sentence.

A robbery conviction in Idaho carries the prospect of a lifelong prison sentence.