The Herald, Sharon, PA Published


Rx thief caught with pills, police say

By Kristen Garrett
Herald Staff Writer

A Sharon man who police say burglarized an East State Street pharmacy in Sharon early Tuesday was caught about 12 hours later, police said.

Mark J. Nichols, 22, of 479 Independence Court, was arrested at 12:13 p.m. Tuesday at Thornton and Hall avenues on a warrant for burglary, theft and receiving stolen property, police said. Police said Nichols was caught on a security camera when he used a rock to break the front door of the Medicine Shoppe and stole prescription drugs.

Police had just walked out of District Justice James E. McMahon's Sharon office with a warrant for Nichols' arrest when they said they saw him across the street on a pay phone. Nichols had a pair of shorts rolled up with a shoestring, police said. Inside the shorts were two plastic bags -- one containing about 500 assorted pills and another containing about 70 pills, police said.

Police said they are still sorting out what kinds of drugs were stolen. Some of the pills included prescriptions that had already been filled, police said. None of the prescription bottles were recovered, police said.

Sharpsville police said they also had a warrant for Nichols for robbery of a car and theft. On Feb. 28 Nichols stole a car from a Sharpsville gas station when the owner went inside to pay for gas, police said.

Nichols drove the car to Florida where he was arrested several days later by police in Monroe County, Sharpsville police said.

Nichols was taken to Mercer County Jail after failing to post $20,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is set before McMahon at 2 p.m. July 9.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at kgarrett@sharon-herald.com



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