Suspected Saugus pharmacy robber battles cops for hidden stash of pills

SAUGUS – A Saugus man, who allegedly robbed a Walgreens pharmacy before dawn on Sunday and secreted a prescription bottle containing stolen pills in his rectum, was ordered held on a high bail during his arraignment Monday at Lynn District Court.Glenn L. Boyce Jr., 38, of 19 Riverside Court #2, was charged with armed robbery, subsequent offense, larceny of a motor vehicle, subsequent offense, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of property damage, operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license, subsequent offense, and failure to stop for police.Boyce was arraigned by Judge Stacey Fortes-White and ordered held on $100,000 cash bail. A probable cause hearing has been scheduled for July 21.According to court documents, around 4 a.m., an officer on patrol in the area of Vine Street said he saw a man in a gold car wearing a black winter hat and thought he looked suspicious. Feeling as if something was wrong, he attempted to pull the car over, just as he learned of an alleged robbery at Walgreens at 1228 Broadway.At that point, the driver, later identified as Boyce, accelerated his car and ended up hitting a guardrail on the corner of Beech and Vine streets. Police say Boyce allegedly got out of his car and began to run through several backyards and climbed over a fence. A perimeter was set up around the area with a K-9 officer. A toy gun was found tossed on the ground near Boyce’s car on Vine Street.Officers ended up catching up with Boyce, through the help of the K-9, in a bathroom of Laurel Towers on Rice Street. Boyce was allegedly found standing on top of a toilet, trying to climb into the drop tiles of the ceiling.Boyce was taken into custody and police later found most of the stolen medication, as well as a black jacket, stashed in the ceiling tiles of the bathroom. Four additional bottles were found in the woods.Police later spoke with the manager of Walgreens, who said Boyce allegedly handed him a note that said, “This is a robbery. Have gun and don’t want to hurt anyone! Put ALL the following in bag 1. Oxycontin 2. Oxycodone 3. Hydrocodone 4. Dilaudid.”The manager said Boyce was allegedly pointing a gun at him and yelling at him to hurry up or he would jump over the counter.During Boyce’s booking, police say they saw Boyce allegedly squat over the toilet and pull a 100-count bottle of Oxycodone out of his rectum. Officers rushed into the cell, where Boyce allegedly refused to give up the bottle, which was covered in feces. After a struggle, the officers were able to wrestle the bottle away from Boyce.