CRANBERRY TWP — Christmas didn't come early for a man who police accuse of taking nearly $1,000 worth of power tools from Home Depot on Monday morning.

Jamie John Mellish, 40, of East Butler faces charges of retail theft and receiving stolen merchandise, both third-degree felonies, after he walked out of the home improvement store on Dutilh Road with $958 worth of DeWalt and Milwaukee power tools at around 8 a.m. Monday, according to township police.

According to an affidavit filed by Officer Ryan Slack, Mellish, wearing a long black jacket, red sweat shirt and dark pants, entered the store and piled the tools into a shopping cart. As he was exiting the store, police say, an employee asked Mellish to stop, but he “was observed then running” to a car in the parking lot.

The vehicle, a red Ford Fusion, was later stopped by the Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department, when an officer saw Mellish in the passenger seat and recovered the stolen items from the car, the affidavit states.

Mellish has previously pleaded guilty to retail theft thrice, according to online court documents, in addition to convictions for burglary and conspiracy to commit retail theft. The affidavit states Mellish had “multiple” active arrest warrants issued by “multiple” police departments at the time of his arrest.

He was arraigned Monday before Magistrate Judge Sue Haggerty. Mellish remains in Butler County Prison in lieu of $2,000 bail. Court documents do not indicate if he is represented by an attorney.

Jamie John Mellish