Portland man in court in armed robbery

A Portland man accused of robbing a Vancouver pharmacy at gunpoint and stealing more than $20,000 in cash and prescription drugs had been released from prison less than a year before the June incident, according to prosecutors.

Keith B. Woody Jr., 24, appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree robbery and on an outstanding warrant in a separate case. Police believe Woody may be involved in a series of armed robberies at pharmacies in the Portland area, according to a probable cause affidavit.

On June 7, two men entered the Walgreens Pharmacy at 2903 N.E. Andresen Road and pointed handguns at a pharmacist while demanding money and prescription medications, the affidavit states. They reportedly left with $975 in cash and $19,176.45 in medication, court records said.

Store surveillance footage shows one of the men sat on the pharmacist while waiting for the time delay on the safe to elapse so he could grab the medication, according to court documents.

The Vancouver Police Department has been working with the Portland Police Bureau on the case. Portland detectives found a vehicle believed to have been used in one of the Portland robberies and found Woody’s identification inside, as well as a sweatshirt that was worn during the Vancouver robbery, court records said. DNA on the sweatshirt later came back as a match to Woody, the affidavit said.

Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said Monday that Woody also has a pending case in Nevada.

Judge Derek Vanderwood set Woody’s bail at $250,000 in the robbery case and ordered he be held without bail in the fugitive matter.

Woody will be arraigned Nov. 4.