Convicted ex-paramedic seeks reduced sentence
Harcharik says felony for taking, using dead man’s debit card hurts ability to make living
A state District Court judge will consider next week a former city paramedic’s request for a reduced sentence after he pleaded no contest to charges of stealing a dead man’s debit card while on the job and using it to fund a two-week, $11,000 shopping spree.
Michael John Harcharik, 32, a former paramedic for the Santa Fe Fire Department, in December pleaded no contest to three counts of violating the Remote Financial Service Unit Act and one count of identify theft for stealing the debit card of Allan Pearson, 76.
Harcharik was one of the responders who arrived at the scene after a caretaker found Pearson dead in his home in March 2016.
Harcharik was sentenced to five years of probation in December.
He now says in a motion that the “momentary lapse in good judgment” has resulted in a felony on his record that “impedes his ability to feed and care for his family and continue to be employed as he has been all his adult life.”
The motion says Harcharik works in construction and tree-removal services in the city, and is planning to move to Las Cruces with his family to study civil engineering.
But his future is uncertain, the motion says, because of his status as a felon. He seeks a conditional discharge, which would remove the felony from his record after he completes his probation.
Deputy District Attorney Peter Valencia said in a response to the motion that Harcharik’s wrongdoing involved “not a single lapse in judgment but instead was a repeated series of criminal actions in which he continually used a dead man’s credit card to purchase nonessential items like a riding lawn-mower and boots for his wife.”
The case should send a message to “all other public employees that may consider using their position for illegal behavior,” Valencia wrote.
State District Court Judge Matthew Wilson is scheduled to consider the request in a July 19 hearing.