FORT LUPTON – Quick-thinking police officers nabbed a suspect in the robbery of Dale’s Pharmacy last week and might have also collared the same suspect in a similar robbery the week before at a Brighton pharmacy.

    As of early this week, Kyle Joseph Johns, 20, was being held in the Weld County Jail on suspicion of aggravated robbery and robbery of drugs after he was apprehended March 24. Brighton police also suspect Johns was involved in a March 19 robbery at Beattie’s Pharmacy on Bridge Street in Brighton.

    According to Fort Lupton police, the suspect, wearing a black hoodie, black baseball cap and a white T-shirt, walked up to the pharmacy counter of Dale’s Pharmacy, 237 N. Denver Ave., shortly before noon March 24 and demanded all of the store’s drugs. He specifically demanded the narcotics Oxycontin and codone. The person working the counter handed over an undetermined amount of vials, and the man fled the store.

   Fort Lupton Code Enforcement Officer Dana Maher spotted the suspect as he left the store. She radioed in the suspect’s position and directed police to the area, including Officer David Hemphill. A foot chase started, and Officer Scott Wagner found the suspect running in the alley between Main Street and Denver Avenue and made the arrest.

   “The Fort Lupton police officers’ quick response and coordinated effort enabled us to apprehend an alleged armed robbery suspect,” said Police Chief Ron Grannis said. “The officers did a great job.”

  Brighton Police Department spokesman John Bradley said a white or Hispanic male entered Beattie’s about 9:20 a.m., March 19, and demanded pharmaceuticals. The suspect said he was carrying a gun, though no weapon was seen. Monday morning, he said police were in the process of recommending charges against Johns but were unable to release details.

    Johns has a brief criminal history, according to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation background check, and most of it dates back to an October arrest in Weld County. Johns was charged with felony counts of possession of marijuana, possession of a weapon and marijuana cultivation. Those charges were later dropped by the Weld County District Attorney.

   It was the second time in less than a year that the same Beattie’s Pharmacy was robbed. A similar incident – right down to part of the suspect description – happened in July. That individual was wearing a black ball cap but was also wearing large sunglasses, a long-sleeved shirt and was carrying a backpack. Brighton police gave no indication on whether they believed Johns could have been involved in that robbery.