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A 30-year-old former St. George, Utah police officer has been sentenced to 10 to 23 years in prison for an armed robbery at a pharmacy in Overton, Nev., in October.
Maxwell Tyler Houghton was sentenced Monday in Las Vegas to six to 15 years on each of three counts of robbery, the terms to run concurrently, according to The Spectrum.
Houghton also was sentenced to another four to 8 years in prison for using a dangerous weapon.
Police arrested Houghton Oct. 10, after authorities say he held up a Lin's pharmacy in Overton, Nev., and fled with painkillers.
Codefendant Paulette Andrea Stoker — also a former St. George officer — was sentenced to probation last month after pleading guilty to conspiring with the robbery and being a lookout.
Houghton also has been connected to other pharmacy robberies in Las Vegas, as well as crimes in Utah.
In Utah's 5th District Court, Houghton is charged with four St. George business robberies in July and August last year. No court dates have been set in the Utah cases, which include counts of first-degree felony aggravated robbery and second-degree felony drug possession.
Both Houghton and Stoker served as officers with the St. George Police Department until 2007. Officials have said the pair might have developed some sort of romantic relationship.
Houghton is charged in Utah with a July 22 robbery at a St. George Kmart, a July 28 robbery at IHC-Instacare, an Aug. 15 robbery at the Professional Park Pharmacy and an Aug. 19 robbery at a Smith's pharmacy. Police said Houghton allegedly used a gun to commit the last three robberies and demanded medications.
Utah authorities have said Stoker remains a person of interest in the robberies.
In the Lin's pharmacy robbery, Houghton showed a gun and demanded the store's supply of oxycodone, valued at $35,000 to $40,000 and then fled with the drugs, according to The Moapa Valley Progress newspaper. Police apprehended Houghton and Stoker a short time later, the paper said.
In 2007, the two officers were issued one-year suspensions by the Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Board related to criminal charges filed against them for disorderly conduct.
Records showed Houghton worked for the St. George Police Department from May 2006 until April 2007. After he left the department, he twice faced misdemeanor charges of impersonating a police officer.
A charge in 2009 was dismissed, but he was convicted in 2010, Utah court records show.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.