Former Florida Highway Patrol Sentenced To 21 Years In Prison For Robbing Several Pharmacies At Gunpoint

The Department of Justice sentenced a former Florida Highway Patrol trooper to 21 years in prison for robbing multiple Florida pharmacies in 2022.

Jesse Rance Moore, 46, was sentenced by the DOJ on Tuesday for Hobbs Act robberies and brandishing a firearm during the incidents.

According to reports,  Moore was convicted on Nov. 2, 2023, and directed to forfeit his firearm. FBI documents reveal a masked individual robbing pharmacies in the Columbia County area after an incident at North Florida Pharmacy on Jan. 13, 2022.

Surveillance footage captured the masked suspect entering the pharmacy with a black handgun, demanding oxycodone, OxyContin, and Percocet.

Moments after the suspect fled, a witness in the pharmacy’s drive-thru pursued the getaway car and snapped a photo of the license plate, ultimately leading authorities back to Moore.

The DOJ revealed that the FBI found the vehicles used in three previous robberies—North Florida Pharmacy of Fort White on Aug. 2, 2021, North Florida Pharmacy of Chiefland on Nov. 20, 2021, and Baya West Pharmacy in Lake City on Dec. 29, 2021—all matched a vehicle registered to Moore or ones his wife had rented shortly before the incidents.

According to reports, police confiscated clothing, masks, a firearm, handwritten notes, and brown boots linked to the robberies.

Witnesses provided testimony on the robber’s physical appearance, clothing, interactions, and demeanor during the robberies at Moore’s trial, despite his use of disguises.

Additionally, Moore’s cell phone searches included medications stolen from the pharmacies, pharmacy store hours, and inquiries like “Do drug stores get robbed in Florida?” just weeks before the first robbery.

Moore served as a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper from Jan. 13, 2003, to Feb. 27, 2017. Despite “several disciplinary issues” leading to two terminations, he later converted these dismissals to suspensions through agreements.