Man Charged for SLP Pharmacy Robbery

A 24-year-old man has been charged in connection to a of in St. Louis Park.

Ray James Brown was indicted in federal court in St. Paul today. According to court documents, Brown was also involved in pharmacy robberies on Feb. 18, March 27 and April 3. In all the cases, Brown purportedly threatened employees.

The 24-year-old was charged with four counts of interference with commerce by robbery, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, one count of robbery involving controlled substances and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

If convicted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, Brown could face life in prison without parole.

On March 15, Brown and one other masked gunman allegedly entered Best Aid and demanded prescription drugs. No shots were fired, and the two fled on foot.

Brown appeared in court with two other defendants on Wednesday—Rayshawn Earl Brown, 20, and Michael Brooks Bynum, age 30. The three were arrested on April 3 after allegedly robbing a St. Paul pharmacy together.

It is unclear if either of the two other suspects was with Brown during the St. Louis Park robbery.

According to court documents, two men, later identified as Rayshawn Brown and Ray Brown, entered the St. Paul pharmacy together on April 3. One was armed with a gun. Both wore gloves and nylon masks. They reportedly ordered two employees to lie on the floor while they forced the pharmacist to fill a plastic bag held by one of the robbers with Percocet, Vicodin and Oxycontin.

After the pharmacist emptied a large dispenser of Percocet into the bag, the robbers purportedly asked again about Oxycontin, and the pharmacist explained that the store did not carry that particular drug. The robbers then allegedly grabbed several bottles of other pills and, with their bag of stolen Percocet, fled the premises, threatening store employees that they would be shot if they moved.

The law enforcement affidavit also states that the men left the area in a Cadillac known by authorities to be associated with Bynum. Police subsequently stopped the vehicle, prompting Rayshawn and Ray Brown to flee on foot. While pursuing them, officers observed Ray Brown pull a handgun from his waistband and toss it into a dumpster.

A short time later, after apprehending Ray Brown, the police retrieved the handgun from the dumpster and located the bag of stolen drugs nearby. They also found masks on the ground next to the Cadillac. Bynum, who had remained in the vehicle, was arrested, and police established a perimeter in an effort to locate Rayshawn Brown. He later emerged from behind a nearby house, claiming to be a homeless person who lived under the porch. He, too, was then arrested.

This case is the result of an investigation by the St. Paul Police Department, the St. Louis Park Police Department, and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie E. Allyn.