AUGUSTA — The suspect in the Walgreens pharmacy robbery told investigators he could not get heroin to feed his opioid addiction, so he decided to rob the pharmacy of oxycodone in order to avoid becoming drug-sick.
That information is contained in an affidavit providing probable cause for charging Dylan S. Karczewski, 26, of Augusta, in connection with the Sunday morning robbery of the pharmacy on Water Street.
The affidavit, by Augusta police Officer Christopher Guay, says Karczewski told police he was unarmed when he presented the pharmacist with a note written in pink marker that said, “Give me oxy 30 or you will get hurt.”
Karczewski made an initial appearance Wednesday at the Capital Judicial Center via video from the Kennebec County jail on charges of robbery, stealing drugs and violating conditions of release. He had been on probation for a previous pharmacy robbery conviction.
The new robbery offense carries a maximum imprisonment of 10 years.
Justice Donald Marden told Karczewski he was not expected to enter a plea to any of the charges since two are felonies that need to go through the grand jury process.
Marden set bail, as requested by Assistant District Attorney Tyler LeClair, at $25,000 on the new robbery charge and ordered Karczewski held without bail on the probation violation charge.
Attorney Stephen Bourget, acting as lawyer of the day, put off any bail argument by saying, “We’d like to reserve the right to argue bail once counsel is appointed.”
On Wednesday, Karczewski said he understood the charges and had applied for a court-appointed attorney.
Police reviewed surveillance video from the store and from cameras on nearby buildings, and Karczewski was identified as the suspect by police who were familiar with him.
In fact, a state police trooper saw Karczewski on Tuesday morning at a Dunkin’ Donuts on Western Avenue and notified city police, who arrested him on a charge of violating probation.
Guay wrote that Karczewski said he got 200 pills from the pharmacist and that he used all of those himself.
Guay also said Karczewski indicated the robbery was unplanned.
“He states he was trying to get heroin but when that didn’t happen, he decided to go to Walgreens to get Oxycodone to prevent from being sick,” Guay wrote.
Karczewski told police he walked to the store from the North Street area and ran out of it once he got the oxycodone. He went down Green Street and used side streets to return to the North Street area.
Guay said a police dog tracked the robber north along Water Street, where a black hooded sweatshirt was found on the ground outside Penney Memorial United Baptist Church.
A couple who live in the neighborhood also reported finding a pharmacy prescription paper about Oxycodone in the bushes along Chapel Street.
In the previous robbery, in October 2012 at the Rite Aid pharmacy on North Belfast Avenue, Karczewski threatened to hurt a pharmacist while demanding oxycodone and syringes.
Karczewski then barricaded himself in the bathroom, telling police he had chemicals and would “burn this place down,” according to police reports at the time.
Police broke into the bathroom after checking store surveillance video to confirm that Karczewski had neither weapons nor an explosive chemical.
Police said Karczewski apparently used the needles to inject himself with oxycodone while in the bathroom.
For that robbery, he was sentenced to an initial two years in prison, with the remainder of the five-year prison term suspended while he spent three years on probation.
He is now accused of violating that probation. LeClair said there are three pending probation violations, not including the one related to the new charges.
On Wednesday, Karczewski denied violating probation.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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