Guilty plea likely in pharmacy robbery

A woman accused of threatening to light gas-soaked clerks during a pharmacy robbery in St. John's last week will likely plead guilty, her lawyer said Thursday.

Dawn Marie Power, 30, appeared in provincial court Thursday on multiple charges, including robbery, aggravated assault, administering a substance to cause bodily harm and throwing an explosive substance on someone.

Elmer Welsh, 37, faces the same set of charges, all laid in connection with a bold robbery Saturday night at a Pharmachoice store on Burgeo Street in the west end of St. John's.

Before stealing an undisclosed quantity of prescription drugs and cash, a man and woman threw gas at two clerks with a crowbar-wielding woman threatening to set them on fire.

"I didn't endanger nobody," Power told the court. "I need help. I'm asking please."

Power did not elaborate on the problems behind her call for help.

Jane Fitzpatrick, a legal aid lawyer representing Power, told CBC News she would be seeking a speedy disposition in the case.

Both Power and Welsh also are charged with committing an offence while wearing a mask and possession of incendiary material for the purpose of committing an offence.

Power is also charged with two breaches of court-imposed conditions, including one not to have explosive devices.