Greenland man faces 37 months for Rite Aid robbery

KITTERY, Maine — A Greenland, N.H., man was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison recently in connection with an armed robbery of the Rite Aid Pharmacy in Kittery last September.

Robert Pecora, 26, had earlier pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to charges of committing an armed pharmacy robbery and criminal contempt of court. According to an affidavit by FBI agent Thomas McDonald, Pecora entered the Rite Aid shortly before 7:30 p.m. He went to the counter, “displayed a knife and pointed it at” the pharmacy employee, stating, “I am going to need all of your OxyContin,” according to the affidavit.

When the medicine safe was opened, Pecora instead demanded Percocet and was given 300 pills, according to court documents.

Pecora went to the bathroom in the drug store, and later told police he had ingested several of the pills in a suicide attempt.

He had a light blue powdery residue on his upper lip, court documents state. Pecora confessed to the robbery, was arrested and taken from the store in handcuffs.

Following his arrest, Pecora was released on bail conditions in February that required him to remain at an addiction recovery center in Dover, N.H. The conditions of release also prohibited him from possessing a firearm.

On the evening of March 14, according to court records, Pecora left the center without permission and later burglarized a Greenland residence. He stole three firearms, $1,000 in cash and a motor vehicle, court records indicate. Pecora remained at large until arrested by authorities in Keene, N.H., on March 25. The three stolen firearms have yet to be recovered.

Following his incarceration, Pecora will be on federal supervised release for three years.

The investigation was conducted by the Kittery Police Department along with the Greenland and Keene police departments and the FBI.