Two Columbia residents were arrested Monday after Columbia police officers discovered they staged a robbery at Walgreens.

Officers were sent at 8:23 a.m. Monday to the Walgreens Pharmacy at 222 E. Broadway, according to a Columbia Police Department news release. Sylvia Lewis, 47, reported a man wearing a stocking cap and mask had forcibly taken her purse in the parking lot.

Several witnesses called the police and reported seeing the suspect behind 33 E. Broadway. A Boone County Sheriff’s deputy found Cole Thomas, 29, and took him into custody with the help of Columbia police, according to the release.

While interviewing Lewis, officers learned she and Thomas might have known each other.

“After interviewing her, it was learned that the robbery was staged so that after she completed refilling her prescription for pain medication, Thomas would rob her, thus making it possible for her to file a police report and get a replacement prescription,” the release stated.

The two subsequently admitted to staging the robbery to file a police report and get a replacement prescription for pain medication.

Lewis was arrested on charges of filing a false police report and distribution of a controlled substance within 2,000 feet of a school. Thomas was arrested on charges of filing a false report, felony possession of a controlled substance and stealing.

Lewis and Thomas both remain in Boone County Jail as of Monday night, according to online police records.