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HARTFORD — A UConn Health Center physician is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Superior Court in Hartford on charges that he stole medication from the hospital in Farmington on multiple occasions.

Dr. Micha Abeles, 71, of West Hartford, faces a single felony charge of second-degree larceny.

According to the warrant for his arrest, Abeles is accused of going into the health center on several days when he did not see patients, removing items from a locked medication room, putting the items in his pocket or briefcase, then leaving.

The items he is accused of taking include syringes and the drug Depo-Medrol, an anti-inflammatory medication.

The alleged thefts of medication came to light as staff at the UConn Health Center investigated Abeles for an unrelated matter, according to the warrant for his arrest. While reviewing video of Abeles’ comings and goings, an investigator noticed him going into the medical storage room and removing items on days he did not see patients, according to the warrant.

Abeles, who has been at UConn 40 years, does see patients at UConn Health and has the right to use the medication room in caring for his patients, according to the warrant.

In an interview with UConn Health Police Det. Steven Jeanetti, Abeles acknowledged going into the medication room on weekends and removing Depo-Medrol and Humira, but said he did so when he was running low at his private practice and needed the drugs for a patient, according to the warrant. He also told the detective that he removed some Humira for a family member who has arthritis. He insisted he returned medication later.

“Every time I would take medication from the room, I would always bring it back within the next week to replenish what I took,” Abeles said, according to the warrant. “I would always return with replacements to the exam rooms so there would be no record or video of me returning them. I know that it looks like I am just stealing the meds on video, but I would always bring them back. I also know that there is no way for me to prove that I brought them back.”

Later in the interview, Abeles told the detective that “I shouldn’t have taken the meds for my own use, even though I just borrowed them until I was able to replenish them,” according to the warrant. “I am sick at the fact that I’m losing my professional reputation that I have built up over the last 40 years.”

UConn Health placed Abeles on paid leave when the alleged thefts came to light, according to a letter from UConn Health Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey P. Geoghegan to the state auditors and state comptroller.

Abeles could not be reached for comment and does not yet have an attorney, according to state court records. Abeles posted $10,000 cash bail after his arrest on April 28. He has not yet entered a plea in the case.

A UConn Health spokeswoman confirmed that Abeles is on administrative leave, but declined to answer any other questions.