A Bel Air man charged with breaking into Medicap Pharmacy in Bel Air and stealing cash and prescription drugs was ordered held in the Harford County Detention Center on $50,000 bail Friday.
Aaron Sawicki, 25, was arrested early Thursday morning near the Atwood Professional Building in the 600 block of South Atwood Road, according to a post on the Bel Air Police Department Facebook page.
A person who works at the professional building reported the break-in around 5 a.m. Thursday. Ofc. Alex Maro responded, noting the caller reported seeing a man running "and money flying through the air as he ran," according to charging documents.
Maro found the suspect, whom he identified as Sawicki, in the professional building driveway, picking up cash with a full plastic bag nearby. Maro detained him and discovered the plastic bag held boxes and bottles of prescription drugs with Medicap Pharmacy labels on them, according to charging documents.
Sawicki allegedly smashed the plate glass front door to get in the building. Police recovered more than $11,000 worth of prescription drugs and $744 in cash, according to charging documents.
Sawicki is charged with second-degree burglary, theft $1,000 to $10,000, theft $10,000 to $100,000, vandalism more than $1,000 and possession of prescription drugs with intent to distribute. He was initially booked in the county jail on $25,000 bail, but District Court Judge David Carey doubled it to $50,000, despite claims by Sawicki's attorney that Sawicki has been struggling with mental health issues.
Defense attorney Carl Schlaich, of Bel Air, said his client has "a long-standing history of mental health diagnoses," and that he recently received mental health treatment at the hospital emergency room. Schlaich noted police took Sawicki to the emergency room at University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, before taking him to jail, because of his behavior when he was arrested.
Sawicki appeared in court Friday for his bail review hearing via video link from the jail. He fought back tears as his attorney presented his case, and he openly wept during parts of the hearing.
Schlaich said Sawicki does not have an extensive criminal record, involving violent or property crimes – he acknowledged Sawicki spent 45 days in the county jail on a charge of driving while impaired by drugs, and he has a prior conviction for possession of marijuana.
Sawicki received one year of supervised probation, from January 2013 to January 2014, for the marijuana charge, and he was initially sentenced to probation on the DWI charge. He violated his probation in the second case, and he was sentenced to jail March 9, according to online court records.
Schlaich said Sawicki was "victimized" during his previous jail stay, and he was in protective custody for most of his sentence. He asked Carey for a reduced bail, or to release Sawicki, on the burglary case.
"He needs to be out, receiving the mental health and medical care that he needs to survive," Schlaich said.
The prosecutor, Emma Goerlich, stressed the serious nature of the charges Sawicki faces, and she wants to ensure a mental health treatment plan is in place before he is released.
"My concern is his mental health," she said.
Carey doubled Sawicki's bail, although he said he recognizes the mental health issues he is facing. The judge said he would consider releasing Sawicki to an inpatient mental health facility.
"I don't believe having him on the outside is going to be helpful for him, or society either," Carey said.