Geoffrey Harvey Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for WV Pharmacy Hostage Incident

CHARLESTON, W. Va. -- On November 13, 2006, Geoffrey Harold Harvey allegedly entered the Family Discount Pharmacy in Stollings, W. Va., with a sawed-off shotgun and a pistol. He then held six people hostage for over 90 minutes and ingested some Lortab (a painkiller) and Xanex (an anti-anxiety medication). On Thursday, Harvey pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Charleston, West Virginia to two federal charges, as reported by the Charleston Gazette and AP.

The first charge is for taking, by using a firearm, $500 worth or more of a controlled substance from a licensed pharmacy. The other charge is for discharging a firearm while committing a pharmacy robbery. The 31-year-old Harvey could receive up to 35 years in prison when sentenced on September 7.

In addition to the federal charges, he is also facing various state charges: six counts of taking hostages, four counts of endangerment with a firearm, and one count of armed robbery.

A woman from that area said that she went into the drugstore with her three grandchildren when she was met at the door by a man who told her to leave. Afterwards, she reported that she heard a loud noise, according to KXNET and the AP.

Jessica Thompson, a pharmacy technician on duty that day, told FoxNews and the AP that Harvey claimed he needed the medication but could not afford to buy it. He expressed that he wanted to kill himself, but not hurt anyone else.

He fired several shots and demanded the medication. Some of the workers managed to escape after they told Harvey that they were going to retrieve some keys to get into another building that had more drugs. Instead, they fled and escaped to get help. After being given the Lortab and Xanex and becoming sleepy, the hostages managed to overtake Harvey and strike him in the head with the stock of the shotgun. The gunman was then taken to a local hospital to be attended to his injuries. None of the hostages suffered any physical harm.

Stollings, West Virginia is a small country town about 60 miles southwest of West Virginia's state capitol city of Charleston. It's population hovers right around 1000. The entire incident was a shock to the little community and left many emotionally traumatized. Pharmacy robberies are becoming more and more of a problem in West Virginia as the demand for drugs, such as painkillers, increases.

SOURCES:

"W.Va. man pleads guilty to federal drug-store hostage charges" AP in Charleston Gazette URL: (http://www.wvgazette.com/section/APNews/News/ap0029r)

"Hostages Overpower Gunman in West Virginia Pharmacy" AP on FoxNews URL: (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229117,00.html)

"Six being held hostage at West Virginia pharmacy" AP on KXNET URL: (http://www.kxnet.com/t/logan-county-nd/66221.asp)