A pair of Walgreens bandits are going to prison for years for a pharmacy heist in Eastpointe that ended spectacularly: They smashed through the drive-through window, stole two safes full of pills, led police on a high-speed chase and lost their loot along the way.

The pills flew out of the pickup during the chase; the thieves ended up in handcuffs.

The two suspects, Larry Baker III, 21, and Devin Reed, 19, both of Eastpointe, were sentenced on Monday for their June 26, 2018, robbery, during which they drove up to a pharmacy drive-through at 12:44 a.m. in a stolen Chevy truck, broke in through the window and stole opioids, lots of them, prosecutors say. They made off with two safes filled with more than 25,000 prescription pills, including fentanyl, hydrocodone and oxycodone.

Baker was sentenced to six years in prison for his crime; Reed got five years.

According to court documents, this is what went down at the Walgreens near 10 Mile and Gratiot, where prosecutors say four drug dealers went in search of the highly addictive pills that are feeding America's deadly opioid addiction, killing more than 70,000 Americans in 2017 alone.

Baker III, Reed and two others broke into the Walgreens and stole two safes filled with prescription medications. They placed the safes in the bed of the truck and drove off.

Eastpointe police arrived at the scene, encountered the truck near the intersection of Saxony and Semrau streets in Eastpointe and a chase began. The truck fled down residential streets going between 30 and 60 mph, running through multiple stop signs and red lights. On one neighborhood street, one of the safes full of pills fell from the truck.

The chase continued. As the truck entered a nearby I-94 on-ramp, the second safe fell out, along with a pry bar and a sledgehammer. The truck proceeded onto I-94, continuing to flee at speeds exceeding 100 mph. It exited at Cadieux Road, made a series of turns at rapid speeds before losing control and crashing on Nottingham on Detroit's east side.

Baker, Reed, and the two other individuals got out and ran away. After a foot chase through residential backyards, officers caught the suspects and arrested them.

According to prosecutors, the pills they stole had a value of more than $100,000.

Related:

Opioid prescriptions in Michigan are declining, but a crisis still rages

Kratom: It's legal in Michigan and people are using it to get high. Here's what to know

Both defendants had previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver and sought leniency, arguing the sentencing guidelines were too harsh. Baker's guidelines were 97-121 months; he got 72 months.

"The guidelines do not adequately consider that (Baker) is 21 years old, who has a good relationship with his family. He also has newborn child while being incarcerated," Baker's lawyer, Steven Scharg, argued in court documents. "Baker’s age and lack of maturity have made him realize the need to change his life and become a productive citizen when he is released from confinement. ... The community does not have to worry about Mr. Baker returning to illegal activity. He definitely sees that there are serious repercussions for committing these offenses."

Reed's sentencing guidelines were 87 to 108 months. He ended up with 60 months after his lawyer, Andrew Wise, argued that "Mr. Reed had no knowledge as to the quantity of drugs that were in the safes. The safes were removed from the pharmacy unopened and were recovered before Reed or the others involved could access their contents."

Wise also cited Reed's age.

"Mr. Reed is 19 years old. This makes him what the U.S. Sentencing Commission has termed a 'youthful offender,' " Wise wrote. "Mr. Reed never knew his father and was removed from his mother’s care when he was 2 years old. He suffered from abuse in his adoptive home. He left school in the 10th grade. In February of this year he became a father."

Prosecutors argued Reed and Baker were greedy thieves who deserved stiff punishments for feeding America's opioid addiction and contributing to a problem that has led to tens of thousands of deaths a year.

"In 2007, just over 36,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. After years of slow but steady increases, the problem has worsened. ... By 2016, it was just over 60,000; in 2017, over 70,000 deaths — nearly double the peak number of annual deaths resulting from firearms," Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meixner Jr. argued in court documents. "Year after year, more and more members of our community, erased. And the numbers will continue to go up, until something is done to stop it."

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com