OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) — An Oil City woman was held for court Wednesday on charges stemming from the theft of tools and equipment from a local business.

Court documents indicate the following charges against 47-year-old Michelle Denea Holton, of Oil City, were held for court on Wednesday, December 5:

• Criminal Conspiracy Engaging — Theft by Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Felony 3
• Theft by Unlawful Taking — Movable Property, Felony 3
• Receiving Stolen Property, Felony 3

The charges have been transferred to the Venango County Court of Common Pleas.

Holton remains free on $5,000.00 unsecured bail.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, on May 10, 2018, Patrolman Ragon, of the Oil City Police Department, spoke to the manager of a local heating, plumbing, and electrical service company. The manager reported an issue that began with an employee being late for work and late to calls. It was reported that on the previous day, it was discovered that the employee — Dustin Holton — was at his home, on Cornwall Street, with the company’s van when he was supposed to be in Franklin on a call. When Holton was questioned about it, Holton said that had to go to the bathroom in “not so nice speech.” Holton was then instructed to get to the next job and then stop at the office, and he said that he would.

According to the complaint, a half of an hour later, from the top of Dwyer Street, four people were observed unloading the company’s van. All of the van doors were open, but as the employee drove to the Holton’s residence on Cornwall Street, the doors were closed to the van and the garage.

When D. Holton was asked why he was still there, D. Holton’s wife, Michele Holton, replied “because he quit” and when asked again, D. Holton replied, “Yes, I quit,” according to the complaint.

The keys to the van were then obtained.

The complaint notes that it was believed that the items being removed from the van were D. Holton’s own equipment.

According to the complaint, when the van was being picked up, the van doors were open again, and items were being placed in the garage.

When the manager and another employee were picking up the van, the manager requested to enter the garage to see if any company equipment was moved into it, but Michelle Holton refused to allow the manager to enter.

According to the complaint, on June 29, Dustin and Michelle Holton had a yard sale at their Cornwall Street residence and a known individual noticed items for sale that belonged to the heating, plumbing, and electrical company.

The individual began taking photos of the items, which were pieces of plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and construction equipment and tools, some of which were marked with the company’s name, including:

• Eternal GU32 Hybrid water heater
• Rheam furnace
• three bottles of R-33 refrigerant
• green R-22 cylinders
• pink 401A cylinders
• refrigerant UV injector set and dye
• recovery machine
• yellow and grey reclaiming tank
• silver solder brazing rods
• copper ground wire roll
• electrical cutters
• electrical insulated gloves
• pump sprayer
• yellow fiberglass ladder with black paint on the side where the Deets company had their name
• orange fiberglass step ladder
• 36-inch aluminum rake
• flexible ducts
• furnace and air conditioning replacement parts
• blue tote with equipment
• orange electrical wires
• blue and white communication wire for mini splits
• ten-pound sledge
• hot water tank element wrench
• Leviton outlets and switches
• red dolly with pipe insulation on it
• Dewalt Sawzall in a black case
• shelves with Slim Duct
• other miscellaneous plumbing fittings, air conditioning fittings, and electrical items
• 100 feet of red rubber hose.

The complaint also notes that D. Holton made an agreement with the company to pay back the money he had failed to turn in after a job was completed and had used for personal use. The agreement was signed on March 15, 2015, and D. Holton was to pay back $692.79 in a short time. As of July 20, none of the obligation had been repaid.

Charges Against Dustin Holton Held for Court

Charges against D. Holton were held for court on August 22:

• Theft by Unlawful Taking — Movable Property, Felony 3
• Receiving Stolen Property, Felony 3
• Theft by Deception — Fail to Correct, Misdemeanor 2
• Theft By Failure To Make Required Disposition of Funds

The case has been transferred to the Venango County Court of Common Pleas.

Dustin Holton is currently free on $5,000.00 bail posted by a professional bondsman.