According to a report by the Crossville Police Department, Terry Dewayne Hassler, 51, of Crossville, was arrested on March 20, 2026, by Police Sgt. Keith Sadula on a full extradition warrant from Bristol, Virginia, for robbery. Officers went to Hassler’s residence after dispatch confirmed the active out-of-state warrant. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to jail, where he is being held without bond pending extradition.

The Virginia warrant stems from the May 29 robbery of a Rite Aid pharmacy on Euclid Avenue in Bristol. In that incident, a man disguised as an elderly person—wearing a full “old man’s” mask, hat, sunglasses, coat, and long sleeves—entered the store, approached the pharmacy counter, and handed the pharmacist a note demanding Oxycodone pills while holding a cellphone to his ear with a shaky hand. The suspect took over $2,000 worth of pills and fled on foot. No handgun was displayed.

Hassler has been linked by investigators to a series of similar pharmacy robberies across the Southeast, including incidents in Cleveland and Harriman, Tennessee. In the Cleveland case, he was arrested after a police pursuit following an aggravated robbery at a CVS pharmacy, where he was also charged with evading arrest. Authorities noted consistent tactics in the robberies: the use of a disguise/mask, a demand note (which the suspect usually retrieved), and in at least one case, a cell phone jammer. He has also been connected to additional robberies in Tennessee and Alabama, as well as two bank robberies in central Tennessee. Hassler previously served time in federal prison.

As of the report, Hassler remained incarcerated in Tennessee facing multiple charges, with extradition to Virginia pending. The Crossville case was cleared by arrest.