A Sharon man police say burglarized a pharmacy and made off with a plethora of pills faced a preliminary hearing Tuesday before District Justice James E. McMahon, Sharon.

Mark J. Nichols, 22, of 479 Independence Court, faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, burglary, theft and receiving stolen property, which were all waived to Mercer County Common Pleas Court.

On June 25, a security camera caught Nichols breaking the front door of the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy, 1020 E. State St., Sharon, with a rock, Sharon police said.

Nichols stole 1,760è pills, including eight controlled substances and various prescription medications, some that had been filled and were waiting for pickup, police said. Some of the stolen drugs included Vicodin, a painkiller; Lorzepam, a generic form of Ativan, which is a tranquilizer; Alprazolam, a generic form of the tranquilizer Xanax; and Ambien, which is a sleeping pill, police said.

Police said pharmacists at the hospital of Sharon Regional Health System spent about three hours sorting through the pills and determining what they were for authorities.

Minutes after obtaining a warrant for Nichols' arrest, police said, they saw Nichols using a pay phone across the street from McMahon's office. When police approached Nichols, he had two plastic bags containing the pills wrapped up in a pair of shorts that was bound with a shoelace, police said.

Sharpsville police also charged Nichols with robbery and theft for allegedly stealing a car Feb. 28. Police said he stole a car from a Sharpsville gas station when the owner went inside to pay. Nichols drove the car to Monroe County, Fla., where he was arrested several days later.

Nichols was returned to Mercer County Jail after failing to post a total of $20,000 bond for the two cases.

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