Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jason
Campbell, 40, of Portland, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge Jon D. Levy
to 2 years in prison for pharmacy robbery. Campbell pleaded guilty to the charge on May 14,
2014.
According to court records and evidence introduced at the plea hearing, on April 11,
2014, Campbell entered the CVS pharmacy on Congress Street in Portland carrying a backpack.
As he approached the pharmacy counter, he opened the backpack, said he had a “bomb,"
displayed what appeared to be a soda bottle with wires attached to it, and told the pharmacist to
evacuate the CVS and to close the gate in front of the store. He demanded the opioid pain
medications Duragesic (fentanyl), demerol and dilaudid and absconded after being given the
narcotics. He disposed of his outer clothing and the backpack in a nearby trash can. He was
located a short time later in the vicinity of his Portland residence and some of the stolen narcotics
were recovered. The investigation revealed that the bomb was not an explosive device.
In imposing sentence, Judge Levy noted, among other things, that “gas bombs are
designed to cause terror" and that Campbell’s conduct “put many people at risk." Judge Levy
also cited Campbell’s lack of criminal history and his life-long battle with severe mental health
issues as the basis for the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Portland Police Department and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
