Cambridge Pharmacy Robber Indicted
BURLINGTON, Vt. - - John J. Arvanits, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement (DEA) for New England and The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Friday, Russell John Thaxton, 48, of Morrisville, was presented in United States District Court for arraignment on an indictment charging him with pharmacy robbery.
Thaxton entered a not guilty plea. United States Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy granted the government's motion to detain Thaxton pending trial.
According to court records, on August 29, 2013, Vermont State (VSP) responded to a reported robbery at the Kinney Drug pharmacy in Cambridge. After obtaining statements from store employees and customers, VSP stopped a vehicle matching the description provided by the witnesses and arrested Russell John Thaxton, 48, and Jennifer Stancliff, 30, both of Morrisville, and Amanda Tetreault, 31, of Eden. Lamoille County State's Attorney charged all three in state court. After further investigation by VSP and the DEA, on December 5, 2013, a federal grand jury indicted Thaxton for robbing the pharmacy of controlled substances valued at more than $500. If convicted of the crime charged in the indictment, Thaxton faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Any actual sentence will be determined by the sentencing court in accordance with the advisory federal sentencing guidelines and federal law.