Two Riverhead men have been charged in the Nov. 7 armed robbery of a downtown Riverhead pharmacy, Riverhead Police said.
Erick C. Darden, 19, and Arnell Nash, 21, are each facing three counts of first-degree robbery and three counts of third-degree robbery in connection with the holdup of Barth’s Drug Store on East Main Street on the evening of Nov. 7.
Darden and Nash displayed what appeared to be a firearm when they forcibly stole cash, prescription drugs, purses, wallets and cell phones from two employees and a customer at the pharmacy at about 6 p.m. that night, according to an eight-count indictment returned by a Suffolk County grand jury Dec. 21.
The pair are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon, according to Riverhead Police Lt. Rick Boden.
Police are still seeking a third subject involved in the holdup, Boden said. At the time of the incident, police said a trio of masked men held up the drug store. They forced one employee to lie on the floor and one of the men directed his accomplices and the other employee on what to take from the shelves of the store.
Both men are already in jail following their Nov. 26 arrests on robbery and larceny charges by Southampton Town Police in connection with the Halloween night armed holdup of the Valero gas station convenience store in Riverside. Indicted in that incident by a grand jury Nov. 30, Darden and Nash are being held in lieu of bail; they are due back in court today on the previous charges.
A third man was charged in the Riverside gas station holdup. Larry Moore, 19, is free on $10,750 bond. He is due back in Suffolk County Criminal Court Feb. 13.
The Dec. 21 indictment also charges Darden with two counts of second-degree burglary in two other, separate incidents in Riverhead; one was a Nov. 4 burglary at 641 West Main Street and the other was a Nov. 26 burglary at 568 Raynor Avenue.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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