SALEM — Being in court can be stressful enough to give anyone what the old ads called an "Excedrin headache."
But Joel Peralta's going to have to get his aspirin from the infirmary at Middleton Jail for a while, after allegedly stealing $75 worth of the painkiller — while on a break from a court appearance on earlier shoplifting charges.
Peralta, 33, of Lynn, was in Salem District Court Thursday morning on charges stemming from the theft of $155 worth of baby formula from the Shaw's supermarket in Salem.
As often happens with misdemeanors, he met directly with a prosecutor and worked out a plea agreement under which he would plead guilty and pay a fine. He signed the plea paperwork and was ready to go before the judge when a recess was called around 11 a.m.
Peralta never made it back to court that day, after deciding to run an "errand" during the court's break, police say.
Peralta headed over to Walgreens on New Derby Street, three blocks from the courthouse. That's where two employees caught him stuffing six bottles of Excedrin Migraine up his sleeves.
When police showed up, he allegedly confessed, telling them he sends the pills to family in the Dominican Republic.
Yesterday, he was back in Salem District Court, having spent the night in custody.
Prosecutor Caleb Weiner not only pulled the earlier plea agreement off the table, but he also asked Judge Richard Mori to revoke an earlier order that Peralta would not face jail time on the older case and to revoke Peralta's bail in that earlier case.
That request raised several legal issues and drew a sharp objection from Peralta's new lawyer, Kelly Richenburg. She argued a deal's a deal and urged Mori to go along with the earlier plea agreement.
Mori wouldn't budge. Even if Weiner was willing to relent, Mori said he wouldn't accept the agreement.
"He fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line," Mori remarked, before ordering Peralta held without bail for 60 days or until the cases are resolved.
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