Young kids in Indianapolis are robbing pharmacies for adults

A familiar pattern played out on Tuesday when a 12-year-old boy was arrested in connection with an attempted robbery of a Walgreens on the Northside.

A child or teen enters a store, proceeds to the pharmacy counter and passes a note. The note makes it clear that the business is being robbed, and that the suspect is willing to hurt or kill anyone who tries to interfere. Most of the time, the suspects don't have weapons, but they always imply they do.

In some cases, the threat is successful and the offender flees with the score. In others, the robber heads home empty-handed or ends up in cuffs.

Whether the would-be robbers are successful or not, the incidents are part of a disturbing trend involving young people being recruited to commit crimes on behalf of someone older, said Lt. Craig McCartt of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Adults offer cash to kids who commit the crime, McCartt said.

"Over the last year we've seen kids recruited at school. We've seen kids get recruited as they're walking down the street to the gas station to get a pop," McCartt said. "There's stuff on social media about the money that you can make doing it, and a lot of times these guys are flashing their big rolls of cash on the pictures on social media."

The case involving a 12-year-old boy, reported about 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Walgreens at 5199 N. Keystone Ave., remains under investigation.

The original IMPD report for the incident incorrectly listed the boy's age as 11, McCartt said. The report also noted that a handgun was used, but McCartt said the boy only implied that he had a handgun. No weapon was displayed or recovered at the scene.

It was one of at least seven pharmacy robberies with suspects aged 18 or younger reported in a 24-hour period, including a second robbery attempt at the same Walgreens on Wednesday morning. It remains unclear if any of the incidents are connected.

With his arrest, the 12-year-old boy joins a growing list of juvenile suspects in Indianapolis looking to knock off local pharmacies, and he may not be the youngest.

On Jan. 19, a boy who witnesses said may have been between the ages of 10 and 13 entered the CVS at 5502 W. 38th St. and demanded pills. He used a handwritten note.

The note, which listed drugs the boy wanted, also implied that he would kill everyone in the business if an alarm was triggered. Employees handed over the drugs and the boy ran off with them in a brown paper bag.

The Crime Stoppers of Central Indianapolis website is littered with surveillance footage capturing dozens of suspects in their teens and early 20s as they target local pharmacies.

Young robbers are part of a larger problem in Indianapolis, where more than 130 pharmacies have reported robberies since the start of 2015, according to IMPD. Statewide, Indiana has had more pharmacy robberies than any other state.

If they get caught, the sentences they face likely will not be as harsh as for adults, said Patricia Baldwin, a prosecuting attorney for Hendricks County, in a previous Star article. Depending on the circumstances, they could get probation or a suspended commitment.

"The juveniles assume not much will happen," Baldwin said. "If you can walk in and walk out with something that's worth a lot of money, a lot of people take advantage of something like that."

To help battle the recruitment efforts, McCartt urges parents to know who their children are spending time with.

"Be engaged enough with your kids so you recognize when they come home with a new $200 pair of Jordans that they shouldn't have been able to afford," he said. "Be able to intervene right then and figure out where they are getting that money ... parents should be the strong positive influence on their kids. They should have other people on the street being the influence on them."

Anyone with information about the recent pharmacy robberies or any other area crimes is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at (317) 262-8477. Callers also may text "INDYCS" plus tip information to 274637.

"Everybody needs the neighborhood drug store, so this is hurting the community as a whole," McCartt said.

Star reporter Shari Rudavsky contributed to this story. Call Star reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack .