CRANBERRY TWP — District Judge Kevin Flaherty held all charges for a man accused of lending out a care he was supposed to be repairing to Common Pleas Court on Friday, Dec. 5.

Oilology owner Kevin Smith, 68, was charged Friday, Nov. 21, with one felony count each of deceptive business practices and criminal use of a communication facility, and one misdemeanor count each of unauthorized vehicle use and criminal mischief following a Nov. 19 report.

The car’s owner testified he brought his 2011 Suzuki Kizashi to Oilology in June to repair a leaky flex pipe and have tires mounted. However, he stated those repairs were never made and that on multiple occasions, he and his friends noticed the vehicle was missing from the lot.

He said he exchanged hundreds of text messages with Smith about the repairs, saying each time, Smith made excuses over why they were not completed.

According to him, he later received a Pennsylvania Turnpike invoice showing his car had traveled from Cranberry Township to the Somerset area on Aug. 8, a trip he said occurred while the vehicle was in Smith’s possession.

He told the court he eventually learned Smith had lent the car to a woman whose own vehicle was being repaired at Oilology and his vehicle had nearly 5,000 more miles on it.

According to testimony from Cranberry Township Police Detective Matthew Irvin, traffic cameras, license plate readers and financial receipts showed the man’s car was being used regularly for months over the summer and into the fall before he contacted police on Nov. 19.

According to the vehicle’s owner, when he and police went to pick up the vehicle it had a broken windshield, multiple dents, cigarettes in the interior and it “looked like someone shaved a dog in there.” He also said his subwoofers were missing from the vehicle.

The owner of the property where Oilology is located, Charles Grabenstein, said Smith hasn’t paid rent for October and November, with December’s rent about to come due.

He vouched for Smith to be released to help remove all of the vehicles and equipment on the property with the business now set to close. Grabenstein asked with Flaherty to help the community out by forcing Smith to assist in those efforts because “he’s the only one that has the knowledge to help clean the place up.”

“The community has to deal with this eyesore,” Grabenstein said.

Smith is also facing additional charges in three cases that were filed this week. However, he was officially arraigned in those cases and waived his right to preliminary hearings.

Irvin confirmed Smith is currently under investigation, according to prior court records, and said additional charges may be filed in coming weeks.

“I’ve been back several times for criminal investigations,” Irvin said. “This has been going on for months and months.”

Smith was placed on $50,000 unsecured bond with pretrial supervision pending the results of a detention hearing set for Dec. 19. His bond is also contingent that he does not conduct any business at Oilology and that he stay off the premises.

Smith did not testify during his preliminary hearing.

His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 20.