Keith R. Smith

CRANBERRY TWP — One woman testified Friday, Jan. 9, that after leaving her car at Oilology for repairs, it was returned with hundreds of additional miles and items that did not belong to her.

Her testimony came during a preliminary hearing for Keith Smith, the former owner of the now-shuttered repair shop, who was in court again for another preliminary hearing tied to allegations about his operation of the business.

After taking into account all of the evidence presented, District Judge Kevin Flaherty dismissed a misdemeanor charge of theft by deception. He held three other misdemeanor charges for the Butler County Common Pleas Court, including deceptive business practices, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and criminal mischief.

Those charges, which were levied on Dec. 19, add to the dozens that Smith was already facing for his alleged deceptive business practices throughout the last year.

In this instance, the woman testified that she brought her Ford Taurus to Oilology for an inspection and repairs on Oct. 31. She said at that time the car had about 131,000 miles on it.

While the car was in Smith’s possession, the woman said she sent a number of text messages to him inquiring about when the work would be completed. According to her, Smith indicated he was working on the vehicle.

She then stated that when she got the vehicle back, it had more than 850 more miles on the odometer and that the car contained two receipts, speakers and lighters that were not hers.

Smith’s defense attorney, Richard Witchko, argued that Smith performed repairs on her car each time he was asked.

“To my knowledge, yes,” the woman replied when questioned. “We still trusted him to a degree.”

However, she said she did not give Smith permission to drive her car at any point. Shortly after regaining possession of the car, she said she contacted Cranberry Township police to report the incident.

The case was one of four that were scheduled to be presented before Flaherty on Friday morning. Cranberry Township police, for now, withdrew three other cases with similar charges. It was unclear, according to Flaherty, if and when police would refile those charges in the coming weeks.

Smith was released on his own recognizance. His next court date is set for 1 p.m. Feb. 24 before Judge Maura Palumbi.