Indiana Man Jailed 8 Years for 5 Iowa Pharmacy Heists

DAVENPORT, IA — Rontel Nijae Mial, 19, of Indianapolis, Indiana, is headed to federal prison for eight years after admitting to five armed pharmacy robberies across Iowa. On Friday, May 3, 2019, Chief U.S. District Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced Mial to 96 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release and a $500 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund—$100 per count.

Mial pleaded guilty on September 12, 2018, to five counts of robbery, each tied to a violent smash-and-grab of controlled substances. The spree began as early as November 17, 2016, when he hit a Walgreens in Davenport. He struck again at another Davenport Walgreens on November 1, 2017, looted a CVS in Des Moines on January 14, 2017, and robbed a Walgreens in Iowa City on November 25, 2017. Each job followed a similar script—enter fast, flash a weapon, demand opioids like OxyContin and oxycodone, and bolt.

The final robbery, on December 16, 2017, ended in a high-speed, low-speed crash. Mial walked into the Davenport Walgreens just after midnight, weapon drawn, and ordered the pharmacist to hand over narcotics. He had a getaway driver waiting. But law enforcement had a trick up their sleeve—a GPS tracker planted in one of the stolen pill bottles.

Police from the Davenport Police Department traced the signal and moved in. When officers intercepted the vehicle, Mial’s driver rammed a squad car, clipped a parked car, and plowed through a residential yard in a desperate bid to escape. Cops disabled the car. Mial bailed and ran—only to be caught minutes later after a brief foot chase.

That arrest cracked the case wide open. Evidence tied Mial to the four other robberies, all within a 14-month window. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Iowa, led by U.S. Attorney Marc Krickbaum, pushed for maximum accountability, citing the danger posed by armed thefts of addictive drugs.

The investigation was a joint effort by the Davenport, Iowa City, and Des Moines Police Departments. With opioids still flooding streets and homes, officials say they’re cracking down hard on those who turn pharmacies into personal supply depots. Mial’s sentence sends a message: steal pills at gunpoint, do hard time.

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