Freddie Lee Giddemns Jr. of Palm Coast will spend the next 25 years in prison for a brutal prescription drug robbery of an Ormond Beach pharmacy last September. The minimum-mandatory sentence handed down would keep him behind bars until the age of 57.
DAYTONA BEACH -- A 32-year-old Palm Coast man convicted at trial in May of sticking a gun in the face of a phamacy tech in Ormond Beach for painkillers and other prescription drugs was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison that requires him to serve a mandatory minimum of 25 years behind bars.
Circuit Judge Frank Marriott adjudicated Freddie Lee Giddens, Jr. guilty on charges of robbery with a firearm, kidnapping, trafficking drugs and possession of a firearm by a felony and imposed a $500,000 fine. Marriott called the robbery "senseless and brutal."
Giddens and two others robbed the Ormond Beach Pharmacy, 500 W. Granada Blvd., on Sept. 6, putting a gun to the head of pharmacy tech at gun point and demanding roxies. A surveillance video showed they jumped over the counter to prevent their victims from escaping before forcing them to the ground.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza said the violent crime terrified the pharmacy tech so much that she quit her job the day of the robbery.
"The brutal crime terrorized the victims that day when Giddens and his partners duck taped them, held a gun to the back of their heads, and stole the victims' wallet and purse," Larizza said. "The pharmacy tech testified at sentencing that since the robbery, she suffers from panic attacks and has a hard time going to public places. The violent robbery has forever changed her life."
"The brutal crime terrorized the victims that day when Giddens and his partners duck taped them, held a gun to the back of their heads, and stole the victims' wallet and purse," Larizza said. "The pharmacy tech testified at sentencing that since the robbery, she suffers from panic attacks and has a hard time going to public places. The violent robbery has forever changed her life."
The victim told the Judge she will never return as a pharmacy tech at a retail store again.