Cops: Ryan Frische robs Port Jefferson Station Rite Aid of cash, oxycodone pills

An East Northport man was captured shortly after robbing a pharmacy of money and three bottles of oxycodone pills Tuesday morning in Port Jefferson Station, Suffolk police said.

Ryan Frische, 27, bought hypodermic needles at Rite Aid at 518 Jefferson Plaza, then handed a note demanding cash and OxyContin, the brand name for the highly addictive painkiller, to a pharmacy clerk about 10:30 a.m., police said. He ordered the clerk to give it to him but did not show any weapon, police said.

The robber ran away, but information from witnesses led officers to America's Best Value Inn about a mile away on Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station, police said.

Frische was arrested in his room there less than an hour after the robbery, said Det. Lt. Edward Reilly of the pattern crimes unit.

The cash was not found, but the three OxyContin bottles were in "plain sight," he said.

Frische told officers he is a drug addict, Reilly said, but a pharmacy holdup over oxycodone is "highly unusual."

Frische, of 535 Elwood Rd., was charged with third-degree robbery and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was being held overnight at the Sixth Precinct for arraignment Wednesday.