A 46-year-old woman who donned a ski mask and wielded a fake gun when she robbed a Southeast Portland bookstore has filed a $49,000 lawsuit against her doctor and pharmacist, claiming they gave her a dangerous mix of prescription drugs that caused her to spiral out of control.

The lawsuit filed by Hilary Leah Bishop is virtually unheard of in criminal justice and medical circles: Convicted felons rarely if ever sue their medical providers for the crimes they’ve committed.

Bishop is serving a three-year prison sentence at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville for robbing Wallace Books on Southeast Milwaukie Avenue in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood on Aug. 15, 2016. She also was convicted of robbing Clogs-N-More on Hawthorne Boulevard the previous day.

Police said Bishop also was a suspect in a robbery at Palio Dessert and Espresso House on Southeast Ladd Avenue a week earlier. She wasn't convicted of that crime, but a plea deal forbade her from having any contact with that business.

At the time of the heists, Bishop was a divorced mother of a 14-year-old daughter who shared custody with her ex-husband. In the past she worked as a licensed practical nurse and a licensed massage therapist. She told authorities that she'd been diagnosed with depression.

Bishop’s lawsuit claims her naturopathic doctor, Vanessa Esteves, and an unidentified pharmacist for Safeway prescribed and dispensed to her the mind-altering combination of drugs a few days before police say she frightened employees at the shoe store and bookstore and made off with the cash.

A message seeking comment from Esteves and the Pearl District clinic where she works, Oregon Integrated Health, wasn’t returned. Jill McGinnis, a Safeway spokeswoman, declined comment.

Bishop also is suing Tiffany McClean, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who worked at the same clinic as Esteves. McClean couldn’t be reached for comment.

According to Bishop’s lawsuit, she was prescribed a long list of drugs, including duloxetine and tramadol. The pair can lead to a rare but serious drug interaction, causing hallucinations, confusion and other symptoms, according to the website drugs.com. Bishop claims she experienced a "euphoria" and a "dissociative state."

An August 2016 piece by Oregonian columnist Steve Duin said that Bishop's friends were shocked by her robberies. Bishop's ex-husband, Dewey Mahood, described the book-loving Bishop as the "most peaceful, animal-loving vegetarian" and "very anti-gun."

Mahood also said his ex used to live four blocks from Clogs-N-More and it was her favorite store.

A probable cause affidavit said Bishop was arrested after she bungled the Wallace Books hold-up by wearing all black and removing her ski mask as she exited the store in full view of a parole and probation officer who happened to be in the area. He immediately became suspicious and followed her to her Mitsubishi Mirage and jotted down the license plate.

Police who were on the lookout pulled her over half an hour later.

Court records show Bishop had been convicted once in a 2006 impaired driving incident. She was allowed to enter a treatment program and a judge dismissed the charge of driving while under the influence of intoxicants. But a misdemeanor reckless driving charge stuck. She had no other criminal history.

Lake Oswego attorney Jose Cienfuegos filed Bishop’s lawsuit Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. In addition to $49,000 for her pain and suffering stemming from her prison sentence, Bishop also is seeking a yet-to-be determined amount in lost wages.

Read the lawsuit here.

-- Aimee Green