Bank robbery suspect held without bail in CVS robbery
Nov. 10—NEWBURYPORT — Bank robbery suspect Brandon Simmons of Seabrook was arraigned Wednesday in Newburyport District Court on charges related to a robbery at CVS Pharmacy on Pond Street and ordered held without bail.
Simmons, 34, handed a CVS pharmacist a note on Oct. 30, declaring he had a bomb and demanding Suboxone and Adderall, according to court records. The pharmacist handed large quantities of the anti-opioid drug and the amphetamine to Simmons, who then fled.
He was arrested days later at a Peabody hotel after struggling with state troopers.
Between the CVS robbery and his arrest, Simmons robbed a Maine bank, stole a van, and led Salisbury police on a lengthy, high-speed chase, police said.
At the same time Simmons was arraigned on charges of armed and masked robbery and threatening to use a bomb, he also was arraigned on charges of carjacking, assault with a dangerous weapon (two counts), and threatening to commit a crime related to the car chase in Salisbury and Seabrook, according to court records.
Following his arraignment, Simmons was found too dangerous to be afforded bail while awaiting trial by District Court Judge Allen Swan and will remain in custody until his cases are resolved.
At his arraignment last week, Simmons was in a wheelchair and appeared to be what one police official in the courtroom called "dope sick." Although Simmons was still in a wheelchair on Wednesday, having broken his ankle before his arrest, he appeared more lucid.
Simmons is due back in court Dec. 22 for a probable cause hearing. By that time, he could be indicted by a Salem Superior Court grand jury, his attorney told Swan.
Newburyport police Officer Kevin Martin was one of several officers who responded to CVS Pharmacy about 2 p.m. on Oct. 30 after a man believed to be Simmons ran off with several bottles and packages of drugs.
Martin's report said the pharmacist was handed a note that read, "This is not a joke, put Adderall and Suboxone in a bag. I have a bomb. Now!"
"(The pharmacist) looked up at the suspect and stated 'really?' The suspect replied 'Really!" Martin wrote in his report.
The pharmacist first grabbed several boxes of Suboxone and placed them on a central counter. He then opened the store safe, pulled out three Adderall bottles and placed them on the same counter. By this time, Simmons had entered the work area and dumped the drugs into a sack.
"The suspect then turned around and walked back out to the customer area and then left the store," Martin wrote in his report.
A witness saw Simmons get out of a blue pickup truck and put on a big blue sweatshirt and a surgical face mask before entering the store. Security footage showed the truck driving onto Greenleaf Street and heading toward Pond Street, according to police.
By Sunday, police had received several tips about who had robbed the CVS, including one from a Seabrook police detective who first tied Simmons to the theft and said he drove a similar pickup truck that belonged to his grandmother.
On Monday, Salisbury police saw the blue pickup parked off Rabbit Road near the solar panel entrance to the Ghost Rail Trail. The truck was then towed when police learned the registration had expired a day earlier.
Just as Newburyport police Inspector Dani Sinclair was filling out a search warrant application for the truck, she received word someone who claimed he had a bomb robbed Bangor Savings Bank in York, Maine, according to her report.
After obtaining a search warrant, police found evidence from the CVS robbery inside the truck, Sinclair added.
The vehicle police believe Simmons used to drive away from the Maine bank, a white van, was seen later that day on Beach Road in Salisbury. Salisbury police Officer Jayson Davis tried to arrest Simmons but was punched in the face, according to Salisbury police.
For the next 22 minutes and roughly 20 miles, local police chased Simmons' van, reaching speeds of up to 80 mph before the pursuit was called off.
After heading north on North End Boulevard, Simmons drove on Route 286 in Seabrook and then back into Salisbury. The chase continued down Route 1 when officers stopped the pursuit to avoid injuring anyone.
State troopers continued the pursuit through Salisbury until Simmons crashed the van into a Ford truck, driven by a Lawrence man, at the corner of Elm and Gardner streets. He then ran away, leading to a lengthy manhunt by police.
It was during the manhunt that Simmons approached a man parked at Salisbury Public Library and demanded that he drive him to Seabrook.
When the man refused, Simmons threatened to shoot him if he did not hand over the keys. The man disregarded the threat and walked back into the library where he called police.
The confrontation was caught by a news helicopter crew and was used, in part, as the basis for Salisbury police to charge him with carjacking and other offenses, according to a Salisbury police report.
A second assault with a dangerous weapon charge was filed by state police as the result of the earlier car chase, according to court records.
Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
