Benjamin Frederick Blessing Charged With Robbing Maryland CVS Using Blood-Filled Syringe

Man Used Blood-Filled Syringe To Rob Pharmacy, Cops Say

A man used a blood-filled syringe to steal thousands of dollars in prescription pills from a Maryland pharmacy, according to authorities.

Police say that Benjamin Frederick Blessing, 52, entered the Elliot City CVS location on April 18 around 4:00 a.m and threatened to stab a store employee in the chest with what he claimed was an AIDS-contaminated needle, WUSA reported.

“It’s not something we’ve ever heard of here -- a syringe being used as a weapon or to imply that someone's going to do harm,” Sherry Llewellyn, spokesperson for the Howard County Police Department, told CBS Baltimore.

Blessing allegedly escaped with $27,000 in prescription medications. No one was injured in the robbery.

Investigators found evidence inside Blessing's home, including the pills allegedly stolen from CVS. Authorities are also testing the blood in the syringe for AIDS.

Police believe that Blessing is responsible for another incident that occurred at a Bank of America location on Oct. 10, 2011, according to the Baltimore Sun. In that case, the suspect was filmed by surveillance cameras allegedly approaching a mother and her child with a taser.

Blessing is charged with robbery and assault. He is in custody on $170,000 bond.

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