Three CVS pharmacies have been robbed in Charleston in the last three months and detectives said they believe the same man is to blame.
A CVS on the East End was robbed of prescription pills at about 8 p.m. Thursday. The CVS store on Oakwood Road was robbed just before 9 p.m. on Sept. 18 and Oct. 16.
In all of the robberies, a white man wearing a mask entered the store with a gun and got away with prescription drugs, police said.
"We believe the same individual is responsible for all three robberies. His m.o. [modus operandi] is very brazen and reckless," said Lt. Steve Cooper, Charleston's chief of detectives. "In all three of the robberies he has specifically targeted pills instead of cash."
No arrests have been made in any of the robberies and police don't have a suspect, Cooper said.
The investigation has been difficult because the man has done a good job hiding his identity, according to Cooper.
"We have released surveillance video hoping someone may recognize his build, demeanor or mannerisms," Cooper said.
The footage police released Thursday night shows a man entering the front doors of the East End store. The camera doesn't show him going behind the checkout counter, but seconds later, he is seen leading a female employee at gunpoint.
Cooper said the scenario has been the same in all three incidents.
"He orders someone back to the pharmacy and orders the pharmacist to open the safe and steals a substantial number of pills," the lieutenant said. "We knew after the second robbery it was the same guy."
Cooper wouldn't say what type of pills the man demands. Police have released information that the man could be driving a red late-'90s model Dodge Dakota pickup.
CVS employees said they are not allowed to talk about the incidents.
"It's not common but it's not rare that when someone robs a store that they'll go on a spree until they're caught - until their luck runs out," Cooper said.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.