Nickolus George Toepfer

WARSAW — A Churubusco man was recently arrested after robbing the Warsaw Walgreens location in January.

Nickolus George Toepfer, 32, 6120 E. CR 500N Number 30, Churubusco, is charged with possession of a narcotic drug, a level 3 felony; pharmacy robbery, a level 4 felony; and being a habitual offender.

On Jan. 16, Warsaw Police and Indiana State Police officers responded to a robbery report at Walgreens Pharmacy in Warsaw.

A pharmacy staff member said the suspect, later identified as Toepfer, approached the pharmacy counter and told the employee to empty out the safe. According to court documents, the employee told the pharmacy manager what was happening. The manager asked Toepfer what he wanted and he said he wanted narcotics. When asked what type of narcotics he wanted, Toepfer told the manager to “just get in there and get me narcotics.” While the employees were asking Toepfer what he wanted, Toepfer briefly reached into his pocket while saying “hurry up,” and the staff feared he was armed with a weapon.

The pharmacy manager accessed the safe and put various packages of methadone and morphine in a bag and gave it to Toepfer. The total amount of narcotics taken exceeded 28 grams.

Officers reviewed surveillance footage from Walgreens and determined Toepfer came from the west when he entered the store. After the altercation with the pharmacists, Toepfer left with the bag of narcotics and fled from the store.

An ISP K-9 unit started a track of Toepfer and located evidence from the robbery at Krebs Trailhead Park, just west of Walgreens. At the park, officers found several unopened pill bottles from the robbery and a sock hat. Toepfer was not located at that time.

Officers then sent the sock hat to the Indiana State Police laboratory for DNA analysis. On Feb. 20, a DNA profile was obtained, which was interpreted as originating from four unknown individuals.

On March 5, officers received an anonymous tip regarding Toepfer, who at the time had warrants out of Indiana and Ohio. Court documents say Toepfer has pending charges in DeKalb County for his alleged involvement in a robbery of a CVS Pharmacy in Butler. Officers also discovered that Toepfer has a tattoo on the right side of his neck that was similar to one described by Walgreens employees.

Officers then assembled a photo line-up that included Toepfer’s Indiana BMV photo alongside five other men that looked similar to Toepfer. On March 10, a Walgreens employee positively identified Toepfer as the suspect. Later that day, the Indiana State Police laboratory said they received notification that one of the DNA profiles they extracted from the sock hat found at Krebs Trailhead Park returned to Toepfer’s name.

Toepfer has an extensive criminal history, including two drug cases and an identity deception case. He is also on bond in the DeKalb County robbery case.

Toepfer was booked on a warrant for the Walgreens robbery on May 5, with a $35,250 surety and cash bond.