Federal Way man gets 10 years for pharmacy robberies

A Federal Way man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle on seven counts of pharmacy robbery for taking Oxycontin from pharmacies along Interstate 5 from Lynwood to Portland.

Derekye Maurice Bolar, 35, received 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for 15 robberies from March 2008 to April 2009. He was also found guilty of one count each of furtherance of a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a news bulletin announcing the sentencing.

At the sentencing, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert S. Lasnik said the robberies were “severely traumatic events for the people in the store.”

Bolar was arrested in April 2009 after his picture was shown during a “Washington’s Most Wanted” segment on KCPQ-TV in Seattle. A viewer recognized Bolar and provided his address to police.

Bolar “repeatedly entered pharmacies, often times armed with a gun, to steal Oxycontin, a very addictive and highly sought after drug on the streets,” Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Colasurdo wrote in a sentencing memo.

He added that doing so, “created an incredible amount of fear, forever changing the lives of his victims.”

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department, which received assistance from police departments in Bellevue, Renton, Kirkland, Lynwood, Puyallup and Portland.