Richmond police reported that they responded to a call for help for a Harvard man and ended up charging him after allegedly finding 28 baggies of fentanyl in his possession.

Authorities said a family member found the man attempting to take his life and called 911. When police arrived at the residence, the man ran and was found hiding under a trailer in a neighbor’s yard with 28 baggies of fentanyl, McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Sawyer Schexnider said recently at the man’s initial court appearance.

The defendant, Paul Picard, 32, is charged with manufacturing and delivering 15 to 100 grams of fentanyl, a Class X felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a criminal complaint filed in McHenry County court.

The baggies in Picard’s possession field-tested positive for fentanyl that weighed a total of 26.7 grams, according to the prosecutor, who also said that each baggie contained about a gram of fentanyl, indicating Picard was selling drugs.

Picard, of Harvard, was taken first to Northwestern Medicine McHenry, then to a behavioral health facility where he remained until being taken into custody by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, records show.

At the time of the Oct. 1 incident, there was an active warrant for Picard’s arrest, issued by a judge July 1 in another case for which he was on pretrial release, records show.

In that case, he was charged on June 29, 2024, with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in personal injury or death and being in the possession of heroin, both Class 4 felonies. He also is charged with child endangerment, court records show.

The prosecutor said in that case Picard was riding an all-terrain vehicle with his 2-year-old child when it rolled over. The child’s chin was injured, and Picard lost consciousness. When police arrived they found a bag of heroin under Picard, Schexnider said.

During this incident, Picard was on probation for a conviction of unlawful cocaine possession, according to court records and the prosecutor, who argued for Picard’s pretrial detention.

Assistant Public Defender David Giesinger said Picard lives in Harvard with his dad and should be released with conditions so he can continue “intensive” out-patient therapy.

Giesinger said Picard’s children live with their mother in McHenry, therefore he is not a danger to them. Giesinger also said there is no evidence of any transactions or attempts at transactions involving the fentanyl and noted Picard was using the drugs himself.

Although Judge Cynthia Lamb granted Picard’s release from jail pretrial with conditions in the 2024 case, she detained him on the most recent charges.

Lamb noted that four warrants have before been issued for Picard’s arrest, and the amount and packaging of the drugs allegedly found on him “indicates intent to deliver.” House arrest would not prevent him from selling drugs because buyers could come to his home, Lamb said.