Federal charges filed in robbery

A Columbia Falls man suspected of allegedly robbing a Columbia Falls pharmacy of drugs at gunpoint has been charged in federal court.

The criminal complaint accuses Grant Alan West, 37, with a Hobbs Act robbery.

The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce “in any way or degree.”

If convicted of the most serious crime, West faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Court documents allege that on April 13, Columbia Falls Police Department officers responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Logan Health Pharmacy inside the Super 1 Grocery Store.

Three victims reported that shortly before closing for the day, a man wearing a beanie, sunglasses and a mask entered the pharmacy, brandished a handgun and said, “Percocet 10.”

One of the victims grabbed a bottle of Percocet and put it in a tote bag the man carried.

The three victims went into a bathroom and the man directed them to wait several minutes before they came out. When they came out of the bathroom, the victims called police and reported the robbery. An investigation led to West as the suspect, and he was arrested later that night.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided over his case. West was detained pending further proceedings.