Suspect in two Walgreens robberies arrested

Spokane police on Monday arrested a man suspected of robbing a north Spokane Walgreens pharmacy at knifepoint twice last week.

Steven R. Prigan, 22, faces charges of first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance after he was arrested Monday night in a West Central apartment on the 700 block of North Oak Street, according to a news release. Police executed a search warrant at the apartment, finding several empty bottles of prescription drugs and a Chinese assault rifle similar to an AK-47, police said.

Prigan entered the Walgreens on 12 E. Empire Ave. on Nov. 12, police said, holding the pharmacy associate at knifepoint and demanding she hand over oxycodone. While waiting for the time-delay safe to open, Prigan allegedly asked, “What else you got for me?”

The associate handed over seven or eight bottles of oxycodone, plus other drugs. Prigan then fled, according to an affidavit.

On Nov. 17, Prigan returned to the same Walgreens, police said, demanding that the pharmacy associate open the safe so he could grab fentanyl, oxycodone and Tylenol. Prigan again fled the store.

Police found Prigan staying with a woman at the West Central apartment. She identified Prigan as the robbery suspect whose image was circulated in local media last week. The woman also told police the suspect’s mother had contacted her, telling her she’d recognized Prigan in the images, according to the affidavit.

A Superior Court judge set Prigan’s bond at $75,000 on Tuesday.