WICHITA, KAN. - A Wichita man pleaded guilty Thursday to robbing a drug store in east Wichita, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Ryan B. Schmidt, 34, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of commercial robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during the robbery. In his plea, he admitted that on Sept. 4, 2014, he entered Gessler’s Drug Store at 4817 E. Douglas in Wichita, brandished a gun and told an employee to give him prescription drugs. He fled the store with seven bottles of hydrocodone and three bottles of promethazine in a plastic bag.
Schmidt was involved in a high speed chase with police before hitting a utility pole and another vehicle and coming to a stop.
Sentencing is set for March 9. Both parties have agreed to recommend to the judge a sentence between 14 and 25 years in federal prison.
Grissom commended the Wichita Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger for their work on the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
