Marshfield Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Pharmacy Robbery

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Dustin Jon Fritz, 31, Marshfield, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for a robbery involving a controlled substance and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Fritz pleaded guilty to these charges on October 17, 2012.

On June 15, 2012, Fritz entered a Walgreens Pharmacy in Marshfield wearing a mask and armed with a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Fritz placed employees and customers on the floor and ordered the pharmacist to give him drugs, stealing thousands of dollars worth of Oxycontin and methadone. Fritz fled on foot and was spotted by a police officer who ordered Fritz to stop. Fritz pointed his firearm at the officer and continued fleeing to a nearby auto repair shop. The defendant took refuge in the shop for approximately two hours before surrendering.

Fritz asked Judge Crabb to impose a sentence below the guidelines range established by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Fritz told Judge Crabb how his use of a Oxycontin for a snow boarding injury as a teenager had led to an addiction and a transition to heroin use, followed by seven years of methadone treatment. In rejecting Fritz’s bid for a sentence below the guidelines, Judge Crabb stated that Fritz had enjoyed many advantages as a child but that a number of bad choices had contributed to his addiction. Judge Crabb noted the extreme conduct in the pharmacy robbery and told Fritz that he was fortunate that he had not been shot.

The charges against Fritz were the result of an investigation conducted by the Marshfield Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Burke.