Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Rockland Pharmacy

A man who was identified by a clerk at the pharmacy he robbed in the coastal Maine town of Rockland faces a lengthy prison sentence after pleading guilty.

Elbert Ranquist, 43, of Rockland, pleaded guilty to robbery Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland,  according to U. S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II.

Court documents state that on the evening of August 5, 2013, Ranquist drove to Jensen’s Pharmacy in Rockland in his wife’s distinctive vehicle.  Ranquist entered the pharmacy wearing sunglasses, a hooded sweatshirt pulled tight around his face, a small blue backpack and blue surgical gloves.

He walked up to the counter holding a knife and demanded oxycodone from the pharmacist.  The pharmacist, who recognized the defendant as a regular customer, asked out loud if he was really being robbed by “Elbert Ranquist.”  The defendant absconded with ten oxycodone pills, according to court records..

Ranquist faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or both.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Rockland Police Department and the Maine State Police.