Donald Robert Thompson, 53, of Montrose is being held on $150,000 bond after allegedly stealing OxyContin® from Cedaredge Pharmacy and then leading law enforcement officers on a chase in and out of town.

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, at about 5 p.m., Thompson passed a note to an employee which stated, “Give your 40mg OxyContin now or I will shoot you.”

When the employee didn’t respond immediately, the suspect jumped over the counter. He grabbed another employee and pushed her out of the way, keeping one hand in his coat the entire time.

John Breitnauer, owner of the Cedaredge Pharmacy, said the man, later identified as 54 year old Donald Robert Thompson, knew exactly what he wanted. He said Thompson was not violent, but was acting jittery.

“I took him seriously,” said Breitnauer, “and gave him two bottles filled with OxyContin®, and he jumped back over the counter and left.” Breitnauer said the the two vials contained fewer than 200 pills.

OxyContin contains oxychodone, a Schedule II narcotic used to treat moderate to severe pain, and is the strongest narcotic legally sold in the U.S.

Cedaredge Pharmacy is located inside Cedaredge Food Town. An unidentified person from the grocery store got Thompson’s license plate number as he drove away and called 911. After receiving the call, Cedaredge Police Officer Mike Neil initiated pursuit, and followed Thompson down the Cory Grade, where he (Thompson) made a u-turn.

According to the arrest affidavit, the vehicle picked up speed and was driving southbound on Hwy. 65 at about 90 miles an hour in a posted 30 mph zone. In the affidavit, Officer Neil said he observed the vehicle passing unsafely and attempting to run other vehicles off the road.

When Thompson made the abrupt u-turn, Neil could not avoid colliding with the driver side door of Thompson’s truck. Neil exited his patrol car and attempted to open the driver’s door of Thompson’s truck. Thompson began to back up toward Neil, and the officer was forced to retreat behind his patrol car to avoid being run over.

As Thompson’s truck headed north on Highway 65 back to Cedaredge, Sgt. Chad Veatch from the Delta County Sheriff’s Office and a trooper from the Colorado State Patrol joined the chase, while an officer from the Delta Police Department blocked the traffic on Hwy. 65.

In the arrest affidavit, Neil said the suspect vehicle made a righthand turn on to east Main Street in Cedaredge, running a red light. Neil said the vehicle failed to stop at three stop signs during the pursuit. Thompson allegedly then turned into an apple orchard in the 12000 block of Burritt Road, where he was boxed in and taken into custody.

Interim Cedaredge Police Chief Dan Sanders noted that at one point during the chase the use of deadly force could have been justified, but officers chose not to use it.

When Thompson was apprehended, Sanders said all the pills, but one were gone, and no gun could be found.

Thompson was transported to Delta County Memorial Hospital by a Delta County ambulance crew. His condition was described in the arrest affidavit as “critical.” He was subsequently released from the hospital and is now housed in the Delta County Jail.

Sanders praised the staff at the Cedaredge Pharmacy for providing the law enforcement agencies with an extremely accurate report of the incident. “Rarely are we given a report that is that accurate,” said Sanders. “They were composed enough to call the dispatcher, and the information they gave the dispatcher was right on.”

In turn, Breitnauer praised the law enforcement officers, “especially the dispatcher.” Breitnauer explained that this was the first time in 30 years that anything like this has happened to him. “I hope it’s the last. Thank God, no one was injured.”

Sanders, noting that the CPD is currently understaffed said, “We were fortunate to have an officer on duty at the time.” Sanders explained that the CPD officers have been trained for these “low frequency, high risk situations.”

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