For months, man demanded Wichita pharmacy techs hand over drugs or get shot, DA says
By Amy Renee Leiker,
1 days ago
A Wichita man will spend 10 years, two months in prison for robbing Walgreens pharmacies of prescription opioids during a crime spree that went on for months in 2021 and 2022.
Prosecutors say Steven Stone, 42, demanded employees of four pharmacies in south and west Wichita hand over narcotics under the threat of violence. In some cases, Stone gave pharmacy technicians notes that said he would carry out a shooting if they didn’t comply. At least once, he flashed a gun, according to a news release from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office announcing Stone’s sentence.
Two of the pharmacies were robbed twice, the news release says.
Jurors found Stone guilty of six counts of aggravated robbery at his trial in August, court records show. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Sedgwick County District Judge Eric Williams handed down the 122-month prison sentence on Monday after denying a request for probation from Stone’s public defender, who contended in court filings that Stone was not a public safety threat and would follow any substance abuse treatment and counseling requirements deemed necessary by the court.
After Stone is released, he will be subject to three years of post-release supervision, according to the DA’s news release.
Steven Stone, after his convictions in August 2024 Courtesy/Sedgwick County Jail
Prosecutors gave these descriptions of the six robberies. Court records say Stone was “armed with a dangerous weapon” and took items under “threat of bodily harm” in each instance:
On Aug. 19, 2021, Stone took hydrocodone from the Walgreens at 2229 N. Maize Road, near 21st Street.
On Nov. 21, 2021, he “held up” the Walgreens at 1555 S. Broadway, at Harry and Broadway, and showed the pharmacy technician a note that said, “Give me one bottle of hydrocodone or I’ll shoot.”
About three weeks later, on Dec. 15, 2021, Stone pulled off a second robbery of the 21st Street and Maize Road Walgreens, where he took a bottle of 500 hydrocodone pills.
On Jan. 26, 2022, Stone used a threatening note to rob the Walgreens at 710 N. West St., at Central and West Street.
On Feb. 20, 2022, Stone showed a gun and a note that read, “Give me Narcos or I will start shooting,” to a man behind the counter at the Walgreens at 333 W. 13th St., at 13th and Waco.
On March 18, 2022, Stone again robbed the Walgreens at Central and West Street.
Stone was arrested at his home in the 1800 block of North Shefford Circle, near 21st and Maize, after the March 18, 2022, holdup. The DA’s Office says authorities tracked Stone using surveillance cameras from the pharmacies, video from neighboring businesses, photos and descriptions from eyewitnesses.
Wichita police also used cellphone tower information to track Stone’s movements, the DA’s news release says.
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