By Kathleen Acuff

A Los Altos resident who graduated from Mountain View High School and, according to his resume, the United States Military Academy at West Point implicated himself in two recent armed robberies when police found him with a large number of prescription painkillers last week.

Los Altos Police Agent Mark Laranjo’s team made a medical check on Sargent M. Binkley, 31, of 305 Quinnhill Ave., at 10:15 p.m. March 6 at his family’s request. They reported that Binkley “appeared to be all right,” Officer Paul Epley said.

After finding the prescription bottles, police officers questioned Binkley, who told them he had committed robbery, and took him into custody.

At press time, Binkley was in Santa Clara County Jail on charges of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and possession of narcotics. Bail is set at $185,000. San Mateo County has made identical charges against him in a separate incident.

Officers from Mountain View and San Carlos were called in to question Binkley at the Los Altos police station. Epley said Binkley implicated himself in two predawn armed robberies of Walgreen’s drugstores, the first in Mountain View Jan. 20 and the second in San Carlos March 3.

Mountain View police charged Binkley with robbing the Walgreen’s at 121 E. El Camino Real. Officer Jim Bennett said Binkley, armed with a handgun and wearing a black mask, forced the pharmacist to give him containers of Percocet, Vicodin and morphine. Mountain View police responded to a call from the pharmacy but were unable to find the robber.

Binkley’s resume states that he led an infantry platoon in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1998-2000 and planned Joint Task Force operations in Honduras in 2001. His rank is given as captain.

San Carlos police have charged Binkley in connection with the robbery of the Walgreen’s at 1414 El Camino Real. They did not return the Town Crier’s phone call by press time.