Five robberies. Two states. Nine days.

That was the final tally in an alleged crime spree that ended Friday when Shawn Michael Merrill crashed his motorcycle during a high-speed chase and was arrested by state police.

Merrill, 26, a transient, is being held without bail in the Kennebec County jail. He is accused of robbing five pharmacies in Maine and Connecticut in a span of nine days, and he faces extradition proceedings.

Police caught Merrill on Friday, just three hours after he allegedly robbed Rite Aid in Fairfield. Police believe he also is responsible for back-to-back robberies June 12 of Goggins IGA in Randolph and the Walmart pharmacy in Waterville.

In Connecticut, police say Merrill is responsible for two robberies in their state: a June 10 robbery of a CVS pharmacy in Plainfield and a June 7 robbery of a Walgreens pharmacy in Killingly.

Plainfield Police Detective Sgt. Mario Arriaga said video images from both robberies show Merrill as the culprit.

“He’s definitely a suspect in our robbery,” Arriaga said by phone Tuesday. “We will be going up to Maine in the near future to speak with him.”

Police in Connecticut plan to extradite Merrill from Maine, but it’s unknown when it will happen, Arriaga said.

“Due to the fact that Maine has several cases (against Merrill), it could take some time,” he said.

Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland said it’s too early to predict what will happen.

“It will be up to Maine and Connecticut as to who gets a crack at him first,” he said. “Since he’s here in a Maine jail, I suspect he will go through the Maine judicial system and then he will be transferred back to Connecticut.”

In a written request for an arrest warrant Friday, a Waterville police detective acknowledged that other warrants for Merrill’s arrest already had been issued.

“Merrill is actively wanted in Connecticut on warrants involving pharmacy robberies,” the request states.

Police said Merrill was in Connecticut visiting relatives at the time of the robberies.

“We have been in contact with the family, and everyone has been cooperative so far to get this issue resolved,” Arriaga said.

Arriaga said he’s not aware of any other crimes in Connecticut or any other New England states that could be linked to Merrill.

Although Merrill is accused of felony robberies in two states, Arriaga said local agencies are handling the case.

“At this point in time, no federal agencies have been involved yet. We haven’t been in contact with them,” he said.

On June 7, Merrill allegedly used a note to demand oxycodone at a Walgreens in Killingly, Conn. The note also stated he had a gun.

On June 10, Merrill allegedly made the same written demand in a CVS pharmacy in Plainfield, Conn. In both robberies, Merrill allegedly fled with undisclosed amounts of narcotics.

Two days later, Merrill allegedly was involved in robberies in Randolph and Waterville. Then, three days later, Merrill was arrested in Chelsea three hours after allegedly robbing Rite Aid in Fairfield.

Merrill made his initial court appearance Monday in Kennebec Superior Court, but was not asked to enter a plea. Justice Donald Marden set Merrill’s next court date for Aug. 28 if a grand jury does not return an indictment in the meantime.

Ben McCanna — 861-9239

bmccanna@centralmaine.com