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Arrest made in New London robbery

A Hortonville man faces felony charges for allegedly robbing a New London pharmacy in May.

Anthony J. Trentlage, 41, was charged Wednesday in Outagamie County with armed robbery, possession of body armor by a violent felon, false imprisonment with a weapon and disorderly conduct.

Shortly before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, witnesses say a man wearing a black jacket with a hood entered Jernegan’s Health Mart. He was carrying a handgun and black duffle bag.

According to the criminal complaint, the suspect pointed the handgun at a clerk behind the front counter and told her to give him Adderal and Percocet or he would kill her.

The pharmacist, who was nearby, told the robber that the store no longer carried Percocet, so they gave him Oxycodone. He placed the pill bottles into the duffle bag.

The suspect told those in the drug store that he had a friend parked across the street. He allegedly warned them that his friend would hear it on a scanner if they pushed an alarm button or called 911.

He ordered everyone to go into a back room, except for the pharmacist. He told the pharmacist to empty the cash register. When the pharmacist said he could not open the register, the suspect became irritated and ordered the him to go into the back room.

While the robbery was in progress, a sales rep walked into the store. The suspect said, “Hey sweet heart, welcome to the party.” He also ordered her into the back room.

Customers who were using the drug store’s drive-through at the time told police that they saw a black Dodge Ram truck with no chrome on the front, no front plate and an open box with no cap. They described the man driving it as bearded with grayish-black hair.

Another witness said the black truck had scratches on the side and the passenger side wheel box was rotted out.

Police say Trentlage’s truck matched the description of the one seen at the drug store during the robbery.

New London Police Officer Christopher Gregory collected rust from where the truck had been parked. The rust was sent to the state crime lab and it matched rust from Trentlage’s truck.

On May 20, police executed a search warrant at Trentlage’s home. they seized a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, body armor, black gloves and a .38-caliber gun with ammunition.

On May 21, investigators interviewed Trentlage’s girlfriend. They showed her still images from surveillance videos taken during the robbery. She said she was not 100 percent positive, but her “heart sank” when she saw the robber in the photos because he looked like Trentlage.

She told police that Trentlege became addicted to pain medication following a back injury. She also said he frequently uses the term “sweet heart.”

Trentlage was convicted of robbery with use of force and two counts of burglary in Outagamie County in April 2007. He was placed on 5 1/2 years of probation with one year in jail and 240 days credit.

He was convicted of two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud in December 2010 and placed on three years of probation. On July 13, his probation was revoked and Trentlage was sentenced to 12 months in jail.

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