BANGOR, Maine — The two men charged in connection with the Wednesday night robbery of the Rite Aid at Union and Fourteenth streets told a judge Friday that it is unlikely they will be able to make bail.
Superior Court Justice Ann Murray set bail at $100,000 cash for Sheldon Hopkins, 33, and at $10,000 cash or $20,000 surety for Darien Young, 18. Both men are homeless, according to court documents.
A higher bail was requested for Hopkins than Young by Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney Susan Pope because of Hopkins’ extensive criminal record in Maine and North Carolina, she told Murray.
The pair’s next court appearance was set for July 10. They most likely will enter not guilty pleas then after being indicted later this month by the Penobscot County grand jury.
Pope told the judge that the men went into the store about 7:50 p.m. Wednesday. Young went to the front counter while Hopkins went to the pharmacy, the prosecutor said Friday.
Each man handed employees identical notes that demanded prescription drugs and said the men had guns, Pope said. No guns were recovered.
The men allegedly stole narcotics, including oxycodone.
The two were arrested a short time later in a wooded area between Sunset Avenue and the southbound lane of Interstate 95 after fleeing on foot, according to Bangor police. An off-duty officer was at the Rite Aid, located at 556 Union St., at the time of the robbery.
It was the second robbery in nine days at that Rite Aid location. It was robbed May 21 by a man who passed a note to the pharmacist through the drive-thru window saying he had a bomb.
An arrest has not been made in that case.
Bail conditions for Hopkins and Young include not being at any Rite Aid store, no contact with witnesses or victims, no possession of dangerous weapons, no use of alcohol or drugs and testing for the same.
If convicted, each man faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. They also could be ordered to pay restitution to Rite Aid for its cost of the drugs.
Look at the bright side Sheldon and Darien you won’t be homeless for a while. Clueless but not homeless. I hope you get the max without any part of your sentence suspended.
Boo Hoo can’t afford bail. Well some of us can’t afford our properly prescribed medications for life threatening illnesses and here go a couple of junkies stealing drugs to get high. I don’t care why you did it and whether or not your homeless. It’s people like you that make such a nice city grimy. I’m just angry that it’s going to cost us taxpayers so much to keep you locked up. I’d rather discard all you losers to a deserted island toss out a handful of oxies and watch you all kill each other for one last high.
As rough as it may sound, I’ve been advocating that for a while. Let them have their DTs there.
At least daddy would be with his little boy.
Well guys look at the bright side. You won’t be homeless for quite awhile.
I assume these guys will do maybe two or three years, less with time off for good behaviour, and be back out on the streets with even less going for them. The fine of course is a joke, as is the restitution, that is just ordered so that they can be arrested for failing to pay it whenever the cops feel the urge to arrest them again. Kind of job security I suppose.
Too bad. So sad.
The longer these two are off the streets, the safer the public will be.
oh and we are supposed to feel sorry for these losers!!? what the heck! let them sit in jail and make them think about what they have done. they made the bad choice to rob a store, now they need to pay the price for their actions.
How do you become homeless at 18
The same way you become homeless at 13, 16 or ten. You have “parents” who have split or were never together, you have fathers who beat you or mothers who do crack, heroin and booze. Our culture is coming unglued with a large underclass poorly educated and incapable of gainful employment. We are increasingly “haves” and “have nots,”separated by wealth, education and civic investment. Not a pretty sight.
So you blame the parents for him being homeless?
MiaH – People become homeless at many ages for many reasons. An 18 year old has the freedom to make his/her own choices no matter what others think about those choices. UMO74 – Sadly, your explanation is the case for most people in this situation. This is not always the case though. Many a stable, well educated parent has been heartbroken at the decisions made by their children when they reach 18. Our culture has been heading downhill for a long time but we cannot presume that all criminals are made by their parents and not their own choices.
The allow 16 year olds the freedom of choice now. A friend’s daughter ran away last week. The police would not do anything, Same with when my daughter ran away at 16. They told me that 16 is the age of consent.
True. Also, you are responsible for whatever your child does while on their own between 16 and 18. If they commit felonies, for example, and you don’t qualify for a free lawyer, you are forced to pay for one. The cheapest retaining fee is between 4 and 5 thousand dollars in our area. Please don’t make me tell you how I know that as I don’t want to have PTSD nightmares again tonight :)
Hello Mr. or Mrs. Young ;) Dont you think its time that parents practice hard love? Ive never had to deal with that, my mother always supported me even though I let her down. I often find myself wondering if she had been more hard on me if I would of turned out the same. Times are a lot different now then they were just a few years ago, bath salts, meth, and all the other man made drugs werent around when I was growing up. I absolutley agree that parents are somewhat to blame, only for the simple reason they turn their heads to it and want to ignore it hopeing it will go away. It wont!!
Some children run away NOT because their parents split or have a parent who beats them. SOME children run away JUST because they do not like rules. My 30 year old daughter and I right now are close. SHE ran away at 16 because SHE did not like house rules, doing homework and being told what it was OK to do and what wasn’t OK to do. She has admitted that error in judgement. Don’t judge lest ye be judged. And how much money we had didn’t have anything to do with it either.
….
The young one has wonderful adoptive parents. He put them through hell and despite all of the love and services they provided, he continued to make poor choice after poor choice. It’s very sad. Now he’s 18 and will be going to big boy jail. Absolutely no blame should be pointed towards his adoptive family. And as for being homeless, when one is harming others physically in the family, the child needs to live elsewhere. His family would have loved for him to be able to live with them safely, but his choices made that impossible as he was not the youngest in the family.
Just asking….if you’re homeless, how do they test you for drugs or alcohol?
Look out, Walgreen’s! These two can’t go to Rite Aid any more.. Maybe they shouldn’t be allowed at any pharmacy?
In any case, I hope Darien can straighten himself and his life out. So young, thought they had mistakenly put a minor’s mugshot up.
Are we are supposed to feel sorry for them? At least they have a roof over their heads and 3 meals a day. That is probably more than they had on the “outside.” More than a lot of people who are working and trying to make something of themselves have. Too bad they will be taken care of. But I am sure this is society’s fault and once again we are all to blame.
Only the BDN would infer empathy for criminals.
Its alright, they aren’t homeless now. That is, until they get 30 years in jail with all but 2 weeks suspended….
So sorry you can not make bail…NOT…..You two smart criminals should have thought of that before holding up a store. Both homeless huh? Guess you both have a place to live now…..called jailed.