Hearing for Oil City Man Facing Charges in Relation to Theft of Over $15K from Country Fair Set for Tomorrow

| December 7, 2021

OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) – An Oil City man is facing a hearing on Wednesday morning on felony charges for his role in stealing over $15,000.00 in money and merchandise from the Country Fair convenience store in Oil City.

Court documents indicate 21-year-old Jacob Michael Howard is scheduled to stand for a preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Andrew F. Fish at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 8.

He faces the following charges:

– Criminal Conspiracy Engaging – Theft By Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Felony 3
– Theft By Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Felony 3
– Theft By Deception-False Impression, Felony 3

He is currently free on $15,000.00 unsecured bail.

The charges stem from an investigation in Oil City, Venango County, initiated in August.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, in August 2021, Oil City Police initiated an investigation into a theft that occurred at the Country Fair convenience store on Spring Street in Oil City after being provided with documentation and video surveillance of thefts that had occurred there.

Police were also informed the thefts involved Jacob Howard and a known male juvenile who were both employees of Country Fair at the time of the thefts.

According to the complaint, the video surveillance footage showed that the incidents, which occurred from May to July, involved Howard and the juvenile conspiring to steal from the business.

Howard and the juvenile suspect reportedly stole money and other merchandise from the business, according to the complaint.

The complaint indicates police were able to identity Howard in the video footage. It reportedly showed Howard voiding transactions after customers paid for items, then removing money from the cash register for deposits, but taking some of the money and attempting to hide it until he could place it in his pocket or other areas on his person.

According to the complaint, the same acts were observed numerous times on numerous different cameras in the business.

Police interviewed the known male juvenile suspect, and he reportedly admitted to his involvement in the thefts. He also told police that he and Howard worked together at other times to steal merchandise from the business.

The juvenile suspect reportedly told police that either he or Howard would operate the cash register while the other would act as if they were purchasing items, but the person making the “purchase” would never pay for the times and the person working the register would void the transaction. The complaint notes these incidents were also caught on video surveillance.

According to the complaint, an internal investigation through the Country Fair chain found that approximately $15,724.00 was stolen from the business from May 2021 to July 2021, based on the theft of cash currency and voided transactions conducted by Howard and the juvenile suspect.

Howard was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Andrew F. Fish at 10:30 a.m. on November 15.

The name of the involved juvenile and charges filed against him were not released.


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