Overdose victim booked on robbery charge

A man overdosed on the drugs he allegedly stole from a Spokane Valley pharmacy Sunday.

Spokane Valley Police were called to the pharmacy in Walgreens, 15510 E. Sprague Ave., Sunday evening. Witnesses said a man ordered a customer away from the counter with a multi-tool, scratching a man in the process, according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.

The man then jumped over the counter and demanded oxycontin, a prescription painkiller, while holding the bladed tool to the stomach of a male employee, said police department spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan.

An employee placed the bottles in a sack, and the man left, Reagan said, taking more than 650 pills.

A short time later, paramedics were called to 13324 E. Saltese Road to help an overdose victim allegedly in a bathtub with a huge bag of pills. The man was identified as John W. Noble, 47, and taken to the hospital.

The scratched customer and Walgreens workers went to the hospital and identified Noble as the robber, police said.

After Noble was treated for the overdose, he was booked into the Spokane County Jail about 1 a.m. Monday on suspicion of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and possession of a prescription drug. self end