Stolen kitchen knife used in Oxycodone heist

BELLEAIR BLUFFS -- A Clearwater man was arrested while shaving in a supermarket bathroom Sunday, shortly after deputies said he used a stolen kitchen knife to hold up a nearby Walgreens and demand all of the pharmacy's Oxycodone.

Robert T. Halstead, 31, was charged with three counts of aggravated assault, armed robbery, trafficking in Oxycodone and petty theft.

According to a sheriff's Office news release, Halstead stole a kitchen knife from an Albertson's grocery store at 2770 West Bay Drive about 3 p.m. A short time later, deputies said Halstead walked into a nearby Walgreens pharmacy, brandished the knife, jumped over the pharmacy counter and demanded the Oxycodone, a narcotic pain relief medicine.

Witnesses told authorities Halstead then walked back to the grocery store. Deputies found him in the store's washroom just before 3:30 p.m., shaving his face "in an obvious attempt to alter his appearance."

Authorities recovered the knife and what they describe as a "trafficking amount" of Oxycodone. Halstead, who also was arrested on an outstanding warrant from Virginia and charged with violating probation on an unrelated burglary and grand theft charge, told authorities he suffers from drug dependency.

- Casey Cora, Times staff writer