Remorseful robber gets 17 years in pharmacy heists

By Matt Lakin Knoxville News Sentinel
KNOXVILLE - A man will spend more than 17 years in federal prison for robbing a Lenoir City pharmacy and trying to rob another in the same day.

Michael Allen Bilek, 42, said today he's sorry for the trouble he caused and that he wants to get clean.

"I take full responsibility for my actions," he told U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan.

Varlan sentenced Bilek, who's already serving time in state prison, to 17 years and 11 months in federal prison.

Bilek pleaded guilty in August to robbing East Tennessee Discount Drugs in Lenoir City on Dec. 30, 2009. He walked into the drugstore, handed the clerk a note that read "Oxycontin and needles," and pointed to a gun in his waistband, according to court records. He left with a little more than $300 worth of pills.

Bilek pulled up to the drive-through window of the Walgreens, 11927 Kingston Pike, in Knox County the same day with the same threat, according to Knox County court records. That clerk slammed the security door, and Bilek drove away.

Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies caught up with him later at a motel. He confessed to both robberies and pleaded guilty to the Walgreens holdup in February for a five-year sentence.

The federal sentence means he'll serve a total of nearly 19 years for the two cases.

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12/23/10