Police ID Man Held In Robbery Outside Walgreens

A man accused of robbing a woman outside an East Side Walgreens, and then driving into several police cruisers was booked into the El Paso County Jail, police said.

William Eric Patterson was arrested on suspicion of being a fugitive from justice and five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a robbery shortly before 11 a.m. June 22, at the Walgreens at 11685 Montwood Drive. Bond for Patterson was set at $218,500.

Police said the 52-year-old Patterson approached a woman in the parking lot of the Walgreens, demanded money, then threatened to shoot her.

Patterson then fled the scene in a white Toyota pickup, police said, but officers and investigators spotted the pickup at Pellicano and Gene Torres drives minutes later. When police tried to stop Patterson at Montana Avenue and Saul Klienfield Drive, he rammed his pickup into three police cars, missed one and crashed into a fourth before his pickup shut down, police said.

Patterson got out of the truck and began running toward a day care center. He was detained after a brief struggle and taken to an area hospital for treatment.

Two officers suffered leg injuries and another suffered a broken wrist.