Deputies Catch Cough Syrup Thief

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI — A 21-year-old Redford Township man has been charged with felony unarmed robbery in connection with the April 7 robbery of a CVS pharmacy in Harrison Township. Hasan Colbert was arraigned Monday in the 41- B District Court in Clinton Township. He is accused of stealing three bottles of cough syrup with codeine from the drug store.

If convicted, Colbert could face up to 15 years in jail, according to a Macomb County Sheriff’s Office news release. He was given a $100,000 bond Monday and is scheduled to appear in court on May 8. Colbert remains at the Macomb County Jail.

Deputies last week asked the public for help identifying Colbert. After conducting several interviews and surveillance, the Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team- East, which is a team comprised of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, United States Marshal Service, and Macomb County Parole Office, spotted Colbert exiting a business in Detroit. He was taken into custody without incident.

Deputies believe Colbert threatened a CVS pharmacist and implied that he had a gun while he searched for the cough syrup bottles. He fled the Crocker Road CVS, forcing the doors of the store open and then was witnessed getting into a silver Chrysler Pacifica. No injuries were reported and no gun was actually seen by a CVS employee, deputies said.

Photo courtesy of the Macomb County Sheriff's Office