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Police swarm CVS after man with toothache does something that leads to arrest

Posted at 3:58 PM, Feb 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-09 18:54:49-05

PETERSBURG, Va. -- When a man with a bandanna over part of his face walked into the CVS on South Crater Road in Petersburg Tuesday morning, workers were concerned he planned to rob the store. Those workers called police who swarmed the pharmacy.

"I saw the police cars," witness Britani Richer said. Richer was driving by at the time recorded video of the scene. "There were a lot of police cars and the police were running back and forth with guns drawn."

Once inside the store, police found the man with the bandanna, later identified as 27-year-old Toddaryl Brown. Brown said he wore the bandanna not because he wanted to rob the business, but because he had a toothache.

But Brown was carrying a gun at the time, police said.

"[He] did not have a proper permit. Brown was charged with one felony count of wearing a mask and creating public alarm and misdemeanors for a concealed weapon violation and disorderly conduct," Petersburg Police spokeswoman Esther Hyatt said. "The scene was clear within the first hour and the store remained opened for business."

Witness Rhonda Dixon called the entire situation unsettling.

"It was really scary. They had their guns drawn," she said. "It's a sign of the times. Every body carries."

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