by Alex Lloyd Gross
Michael Nixon, 31, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was convicted at trial of robbery which interferes with interstate commerce (Hobbs Act robbery), using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after a robbery of a pharmacy on the 2900 block of N 5th Street in Philadelphia.
The robbery happened December 22, 2021, at approximately 5:44 p.m., On that day an employee was outside and forced back into the store. Once inside the store Nixon then went behind the counter and ordered narcotics to get put into a plastic bag.
Nixon pointed a black firearm at them and urged them to hurry up. Once the defendant had the bottles of drugs, he exited the store, ran to a waiting blue Dodge Charger, and got into a passenger seat. The getaway car then sped away.
They ran right under the watchful eye of police. At that time, the NSF officers attempted to stop the Charger, but the vehicle sped off and led police on a high-speed pursuit through the city. During the vehicle pursuit, PPD officers observed what appeared to be medicine bottles being thrown from the vehicle.
Following a minor vehicle accident on the 3100 block of Janney Street in Philadelphia, both Nixon and the driver of the vehicle were taken into police custody. PPD officers went back to the route of travel and recovered multiple bottles of controlled substances, specifically alprazolam tablets and one partially broken bottle containing methylphenidate hydrochloride tablets, which matched the substances stolen from the pharmacy.
Nixon is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8 and faces a maximum possible term of life in prison.