The guilty plea came as prosecutors were presenting their case to jurors in the trial before Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael J. Wherry. Mercer County Assistant District Attorney Timothy Bonner said the plea came because of the strong case against Kays.

Kays, 45, of 115 Carnona Road, Pine Township, was accused of walking into the drug store on Jan. 20, 2001, and demanding clerks and a pharmacist put all the Oxycontin and MS contin, both pain killers, into a bag, according to the prosecutor's opening statements. Kays' face was covered with a red bandanna and a hood and he held his hand in his coat as if he had a gun, according to opening statements.

Four days after the robbery, state police stopped a Chevy Blazer on Interstate 79 and found 300 of the 1,500 pills stolen from the drug store, according to the opening statements. Kays was a passenger in the Blazer.

A customer at the store gave police a description and license number of the Blazer, Bonner said.

On Feb. 16, 2001, Kays from Mercer County Jail contacted a state police undercover agent, said a probable cause affidavit. Kays offered the agent $1,000 to walk into Eckerd and tell one of the witnesses that Kays didn't like snitches, state police said in the affidavit.