A Lake County Judge has ordered a Beach Park homeowner accused of possessing and selling two pounds of cocaine and $500K in cash detained in jail pending trial, despite the homeowner being a victim of a January home invasion.
Alan C. Solganick, 67, of the 38200 block of North Sheridan Road in Beach Park, was the victim of a home invasion at the Lakeview Mobile Home Park in the 38200 block of Sheridan Road in Beach Park when detectives learned he was selling drugs out of his residence.
On Monday, Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim decided that, due to the amount of cocaine Solganick was selling out of the Beach Park trailer home, he should be detained until trial.
Solganick was taken into custody last week after a search warrant served on Solganick resulted in deputies recovering nearly two pounds of cocaine and approximately $500,000 in U.S. currency, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said Thursday.
The incident started when sheriff deputies were called to Solganick’s mobile home at 8:05 p.m. on Jan. 8 for a home invasion.
Covelli said sheriff’s deputies arrived at the mobile home and found Solganick with serious wounds to his face and body. He was transported to an area hospital where he was treated for his injuries.
Authorities said in previous court hearings that Solganick told deputies that he and his wife were sitting in their trailer when they heard the front glass door break.
Brian Wisch, 47, a former neighbor of Soganick, came into his home brandishing a chrome gun, authorities said.
Wisch started advancing on Solganick and demanded money, Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Dino Katris said in a previous court hearing.
Solganick had $700 in cash laid out on the kitchen table, Katris said, and Solganick directed Wisch to the table.
When Wisch went for the money, Solganik moved toward his front closet, where he had a loaded gun stashed in a coat pocket, Katris said.
Solganik pulled out the gun and pointed it at Wisch and fired, Katris said.
The round struck Wisch in the waist area and exited through his buttocks, Katris said.
Wisch began wrestling with Solganick and overpowered him, Katris said, then Wisch allegedly used the gun as a bludgeon to strike Solganick on the head.
Solganik had lacerations to his face, bleeding from the back of the head and a black eye, Katris said.
Wisch ran out of the trailer with the money and both guns, but was located with his daughter the next day at the Pilot Truck Stop in the 16400 block of Russell Road in Wadsworth.
Wisch told authorities he is homeless and sleeps with his adult daughter in the cab of a truck, and allowed deputies to search the vehicle.
Katris said a chrome pistol with blood stains on it and a black 9mm handgun that Solganick had in his possession were found during the police search of the vehicle.
Police interviewed Wisch, who claimed he went to the trailer to purchase $300 worth of cocaine from Solganick and the 67-year-old man drew a gun on him.
The two wrestled by the glass door, causing the glass to break, Wisch told authorities. Wisch also told police the gun went off during the wrestling match, and the round struck him in the waist area.
Wisch also told police he grabbed the gun and started striking Solganick in the head, then grabbed the wife’s gun and ran away.
Prosecutors questioned Wisch’s version of events because the glass was found inside the home and not outside, disputing Wisch’s claim that the struggle caused the glass break. In addition, authorities questioned why Wisch did not seek out treatment for the gunshot wound or report it to the police.
A family member of Wisch said she had previously seen Wisch possessing the chrome gun that officers found, Katris said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed three charges of home invasion, two counts of armed robbery and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon against Wisch.
Wisch remains detained in Lake County Jail pending trial.
Covelli said the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved Class X felony charges of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Repeat Felon Offender, Manufacturing and Delivery of More Than 400 Grams of Cocaine, and Armed Violence against Solganick.
The charges could put Solganick behind bars for up to 30 years each.
In addition, Solganick has been charged with Possession of More Than 400 Grams of Cocaine and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Covelli added. The cocaine charge is a Class 1 felony, and the firearm charge is a Class 2 felony.
Prosecutors filed a petition to detain Solganick until trial upon his appearance in court early Thursday, and defense attorneys asked for the hearing to take place on Monday.
Solganick appeared before Nerheim on Monday, where Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Emily Shanley-Roberts said the detention hearing should not focus on the fact that Solganick fired a weapon while protecting himself during a home invasion, but rather that Solganick was selling mass quantities of cocaine out of his Beach Park mobile home.
In response, defense attorney Robert Deters pointed out that Solganick is the sole caretaker of his wife of 30 years, who is suffering from kidney disease and on dialysis treatments.
Nerheim said the amount of drugs Solganick had was a danger to the community and, thereby, ordered the Beach Park man detained until trial.
Solganick is due back in court on March 6.