Crime

Man charged with shoplifting, threatening CVS employee with syringe

When confronted by the employee for shoplifting, the suspect allegedly said, “Not today man. You stop me and I will pull out a needle full of my blood and stick you with it.”

August 12, 2024

1 minute to read

A 25-year-old man, charged with shoplifting and threatening to stab an employee with a blood-filled syringe at a CVS in Boston, will appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on Aug. 21, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced Monday.

Robert Griffin Sullivan of Ipswich was charged with armed robbery and shoplifting by asportation on July 29. A judge ordered him held on $500 bail and to stay away from the location where the incident took place, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.

At 8:16 p.m. on July 28, Boston police responded to a shoplifting call at the CVS on Cambridge Street in the West End, officials say.

A CVS employee told officers that he saw a man enter the store, fill his arms with paper towels and cashew nuts, and attempt to flee without paying for the items, according to the statement.

When confronted by the employee, the suspect allegedly said, “Not today man. You stop me and I will pull out a needle full of my blood and stick you with it.”

Police received a description of the suspect from the employee and images from surveillance footage, the statement said. Those descriptions led police to Sullivan on Avenue De Lafayette in Downtown Crossing around 4:30 p.m., who was allegedly in possession of a fanny pack with five empty syringes.

Sullivan initially denied ever being at the store, but then said, “I gave the stuff back,” according to authorities.

Sullivan has a 32-page criminal record stemming back from 2013, including offenses like larceny, false reporting, assault and battery, leaving the scene of property damage, leaving the scene of an injured person, and receiving stolen property, prosecutors said.

The incident comes amid widespread closures of several pharmacies in vulnerable communities.

“This is a prime example of the type of conduct that endangers employees and has a broader impact on consumers,” Hayden said in the statement. “Employees deserve to be safe in their workplaces and consumers deserve to be safe in their shopping places.”