TOTTENVILLE — A man threatened a CVS worker with a wrench while trying to steal cold medicine from inside the store, prosecutors said.
Joseph Berchini, 25, walked into the 250 Page Ave. drugstore on Jan. 6 at about 12:13 p.m. and started to take cold medicine from the shelves, according to his criminal complaint.
When a store worker approached him for shoplifting, Berchini took out a wrench then fled the store with the medicine, prosecutors said.
He was arrested the same day. Police said he was hospitalized and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of stolen property and menacing at his bedside arraignment on Wednesday, a spokesman for Staten Island District Attorney's office said.
The spokesman couldn't say why he was hospitalized.
He was held without bail and a psych examination was ordered, according to online court records.
Berchini was previously convicted of criminal possession of stolen property in October 2016, according to his complaint.
His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
