A formerly homeless man was sentenced to time served to 23 months in jail with three years of probation after pleading guilty to possessing an instrument of crime, reckless endangerment and retail theft in a 2023 shoplifting incident that escalated to a physical confrontation with a CVS employee.
Brian Saunders, 25, had also been charged with attempted murder, robbery, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and harassment, but those charges were withdrawn under the negotiated guilty plea reached by Assistant District Attorney Jerry Rassias and defense counsel Luke Mercurio.
Saunders was arrested Sept. 6, 2023, near the Prospect Park CVS on Chester Pike where the incident originated.
CVS employee Samir Mahmoud told Assistant District Attorney Nick McGuire at a preliminary hearing last year that he was working at the store that day when he spotted Saunders putting items into his pants.
Mahmoud said he confronted Saunders as he attempted to leave the store, but Saunders grabbed Mahmoud’s shirt and they both went outside during a tussle.
Mahmoud said he was eventually able to retrieve a stolen energy drink from Saunders and turned away from him to reenter the store. That was when Saunders allegedly struck him on the right side of the head from behind and ran off.
Mahmoud followed Saunders to call 911 and report the alleged assault. He said Saunders eventually slowed, then turned and displayed a knife with a blade about the size of his palm.
“He said, ‘I’m gonna kill you, mother …,’ ” according to Mahmoud.
Mahmoud said Saunders was about 2 to 3 feet from him as he made several slashing motions with the knife, hitting the sleeve of Mahmoud’s uniform.
“The knife was a few centimeters away from my face and neck,” Mahmoud said. “I felt very threatened, like my life was on the line.”
Mahmoud said he retreated from Saunders at that point.
An affidavit of probable cause for Saunders’ arrest written by Prospect Park Police Officer Michael Slowik stated that he received a call for an assault in progress about 9:30 a.m. that indicated the assailant was running west on Chester Pike toward Lincoln Avenue.
Saunders was found in a nearby RiteAid parking lot behind a dumpster by assisting officers a short time later and Mahmoud identified him as the assailant.
Slowik recovered surveillance footage that showed Saunders attacking Mahmoud inside and outside of the store, according to the affidavit. The knife was seized and the merchandise was recovered.
Mercurio said Friday that Saunders had suffered significant trauma in his life that he never had the tools or supports to address, and that he was suffering from mental health and addiction issues when he was arrested.
Saunders was not stealing high-end items to resell, Mercurio noted, but was stealing food and energy drinks to survive. This was his first real brush with the law, save similar summary retail theft cases, Mercurio said.
Now, though, Saunders appears to be have turned a corner.
He was released on electronic home monitoring after about three months of incarceration and is now receiving therapy and mental health care, has an apartment, bicycle and cellphone, along with SNAP and other benefits that he was entitled to, and has been doing community service.
Saunders has also passed all of his random drug screens and had no major violations while on supervision, Mercurio pointed out.
The sentence imposed by Common Pleas Court Judge G. Michael Green called for immediate parole, but included a stay-away order from the victim, store and Prospect Park generally.
Saunders must also provide a DNA sample to state police and stay compliant with parole and probation rules. If he has no new offenses or violations after one year, he may petition the court to terminate supervision.