Off-duty city cop helps capture robbery suspect

The 19-year-old suspect was arraigned Friday.

YOUNGSTOWN — The drugstore clerk’s head shake at the drive-through window told off-duty city Patrolman Mark Rakocy that something was wrong.

Rakocy then entered Rite Aid at 2800 Mahoning Ave. just as a robbery suspect was leaving Thursday afternoon.

As the suspect ran toward Glenellen Avenue on the West Side, Rakocy followed in his personal car and saw the suspect toss a gun into a driveway.

While this was happening, on-duty officers headed to the scene were given the suspect’s description and possible location. A perimeter was set up after a Glenellen resident told police that the man was behind his shed.

The suspect, later identified as 19-year-old Anthony Carter of Forestview Drive, jumped the fence behind the shed and landed in the backyard of a house on North Schenley Avenue, police said. He was apprehended after a struggle with officers.

Store employees later identified him as the man who grabbed his waist as if he had a gun and ran out with prescription painkillers. Rakocy also identified Carter as the man he followed.

Two bottles of OxyContin and one bottle of Oxycodone were found along the path Carter ran, as was a 9 mm handgun, police said.

Charged

Carter was arraigned Friday in municipal court on a charge of aggravated robbery. His bail was set at $100,000, and he will be back July 9 for a preliminary hearing.

Store employees told police that Carter first asked about a lip balm and then asked about getting a prescription filled before demanding ABGs, a generic OxyContin.

Reports show he went behind the pharmacist’s counter and grabbed bottles of the brand name narcotic painkillers.

A red Ford Explorer that may have been waiting for Carter in the parking lot was later found at a drive-through convenience store and towed after police concluded it was an unsafe vehicle.

A digital surveillance recording of the robbery was to be turned over to detectives.