Suspect Misses Court Due to Too Much Ambien: Report

Suspect to be evaluated at area hospital after taking too much of a sedative

The search for a man who didn't show up for court Tuesday has ended.

Aleksandr Goukasian was due to be in a Fort Worth courtroom at 8:45 a.m. as his trial on using an unauthorized access device continued.

Goukasian is accused of ripping off thousands of North Texans using a skimming device on gas pumps and had been in court every day of his trial.

When Goukasian didn't show, his lawyers tried frantically to call him while the judge sent officers to his home on the 6300-block of Fern Meadow Drive.

A GPS device attached to Goukasian's ankle indicated he was in the residence, but he wasn't responding to the phone or his doorbell.

When Goukasian didn't answer the door, the officer at the scene called for backup and paramedics.

Officers obtained an arrest warrant and entered Goukasian's home. He was found inside the home struggling with lucidity.

Goukasian apparently told officials he had taken a lot of Ambien and had overslept.  The drug is a sedative commonly used to help people sleep.

Goukasian was transported to a local hospital.  It was reported that Goukasian was going to return to court shortly after noon on Tuesday.  That report was an error and court has recessed until Wednesday.  Tuesday, the defense was expected to call one witness and then rest.

If convicted, Goukasian faces 99 years in prison.

NBC 5's Lindsay Wilcox, Ben Russell and Amanda Guerra contributed to this report.

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