A Lakeside man accused of holding a pharmacist at gunpoint in 2017 pleaded no contest to a single charge of assault with a weapon.
Thomas Devine appeared in Flathead County District Court on Feb. 14 and will be sentenced in April. A no-contest plea is entered when defendants acknowledge that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them but still maintain that they are innocent.
According to court records, a Lakeside pharmacist called law enforcement on Oct. 20 to report an altercation with Devine. The victim reported that he had just driven to work and was standing outside his car when Devine pulled up. Devine got out of his car and walked toward the pharmacist. The pharmacist asked how Devine was doing. Devine allegedly told the man to “get in the [explicative] truck.” Confused, the man followed the order.
Once inside the truck Devine allegedly produced a brown paper bag with a loaded gun in it. Devine told the pharmacist that he needed a prescription filled. The pharmacist said he could not do that without a doctor’s permission. Devine allegedly got angry and started yelling vulgarities. Devine said that doctors would not help him with his “pain.”
The pharmacist eventually was able to leave the vehicle and call law enforcement. Sheriff’s detectives contacted Devine who reportedly said that he had not slept in several days and was in extreme pain. Devine said that he was having trouble with the local VA clinic in getting his prescriptions filled and was “desperate.”