SLIPPERY ROCK — Charges filed against a Waynesburg man accused of stealing a handgun from a township home were moved forward to county Common Pleas Court on Wednesday.

Jonathan Arroyo, 29, appeared before District Judge Joseph Nash for a preliminary hearing regarding an incident where he was charged with felony counts of theft, possessing stolen property and illegally possessing a gun.

State police filed the charges about one month after a pistol and other items were reported stolen from a Slippery Rock Township home.

Dave Beichner, assistant district attorney, called the homeowner, Jocelyn Williams, to testify.

Williams said Arroyo lived with her and her husband from February to May after being released on parole. Her husband was Arroyo’s cellmate in prison.

During his stay, Williams said Arroyo took an interest in her firearms, specifically a Springfield Armory Hellcat 9 mm pistol.

“He said he could take it to Philly and sell it for three times what it was worth,” she said.

According to Williams, Arroyo also referenced her 12-gauge shotgun in conversation.

“He told me if I bought him a bigger duffel bag, he could take those and sell them too,” she said.

In May, Williams said she drove Arroyo to a Greyhound bus station in Pittsburgh. According to court documents, Arroyo was traveling to Philadelphia to see his children.

“He went to the station with a medium sized duffel bag, it appeared to be full,” she said.

Two days later, Williams said her handgun, six boxes of ammunition, two watches, and cash were all stolen from her bedroom. The approximate value of the items was $2,500.

Beichner asked if anyone else besides Arroyo, Williams, or her husband had access to the house during that time, to which Williams said no one did.

During closing arguments, Jennifer Popovich, defense attorney, asked all charges to be dropped since the case was based on assumption.

“There are three people who had access to the items declared by the Commonwealth to be missing,” she said. “One is the witness’s husband who we know spent time in a state facility. No items were ever recovered, and no one saw my client with a gun.”

Nash said while both sides of the case presented convincing arguments, he decided to move all charges to county court.