Suspect in Bellevue pharmacy robbery sentenced to 10 years

From staff reports

Derekye Maurice Bolar, 35, of Federal Way, was sentenced September 10 in U.S. District Court to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for seven counts of pharmacy robbery, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Bolar is suspected in 15 pharmacy robberies between March of 2008 and April 2009. The robberies occurred along the Interstate 5 corridor, From Portland, Ore., to Lynnwood, Wash., including Bellevue.

In each case, Bolar demanded and stole large amounts of Oxycontin, a narcotic pain medication. During some of the robberies, Bolar entered the store, pointed a gun at the pharmacist, and demanded all the Oxycontin in the safe containing narcotics.

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

In Bolar's latest robbery, in Bellevue, the use of a tracking device in the narcotics allowed law enforcement to locate the suspect. Bolar fled in the getaway car, avoiding arrest. In late April, his picture was later shown on Washington’s Most Wanted. A viewer recognized Bolar and provided his address to law enforcement. He was arrested April 28, 2009.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Colasurdo asked for a lengthy sentence for Bolar. The attorney noted that Bolar had been convicted just two years earlier of second degree robbery. He wrote in the sentencing memo that Bolar's actions produced an "incredible amount of fear, forever changing the lives of his victims."

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department, with the assistance of the police departments in Bellevue, Renton, Kirkland, Lynnwood, Puyallup and Portland.

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