EVERETT — An ex-con’s reported attempt to rob a pharmacy using a weapon made in part from a pair of purple underwear led to a felony charge Wednesday.

Larry Edward Taylor, 60, went to a north Everett pharmacy on Dec. 7 to fill a prescription. While there, he also demanded the powerful pain killer Vicodin. He was told to leave.

That’s when the trouble started, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Cindy Larsen said in court papers.

Taylor left for a few moments. He returned carrying a large piece of concrete and demanding drugs. He hopped a counter and went into the employee area where pills are stored, Larsen said.

“The defendant began swinging the concrete, which was wrapped in what appeared to be a pair of purple boxer shorts,” the prosecutor said.

The pharmacist was able to disarm the robber, and customers forced him from the store.

The robbery suspect was gone when officers arrived, but while they were taking reports from witnesses, a call came in about a shoplifter at a nearby grocery store. The man had eaten some food and tried to leave without paying.

A drunken Taylor was detained at the grocery store. He was identified by a witness from the pharmacy as the man who attempted the earlier robbery there, Larsen wrote.

Taylor told police he’d consumed two fifths of vodka and smoked cocaine that day, and also was homeless.

“He claimed that his last employment was as a security guard for Dolly Parton five years ago,” Larsen wrote.

She charged Taylor with attempted first-degree robbery. His criminal history includes convictions for burglary, theft and assault, and nearly 20 years spent in prison in Arkansas.

Scott North: 425-339-3431, north@heraldnet.com.