BUTLER — It was far from the perfect crime.

A regular customer is accused of using another man's lost or mislaid credit card to buy cigarettes at a Point Plaza store.

A clerk immediately recognized the suspect, who also misspelled the victim's name on the transaction receipt.

Gary J. Bishop Jr., 48, of Butler is facing a preliminary hearing later this month in connection with the incident in December. He was arraigned last week on felony and other charges.

The victim told police that he discovered his card missing Dec. 21 after he had used it at a grocery store in Point Plaza. He believed that he may have accidentally dropped it.

But by the time he called the bank to cancel the card, according to court documents, he learned that it was too late.

Just nine minutes after the victim had used his card at the grocery store, someone used it without his permission to make a $73.34 purchase at a nearby tobacco store.

A check at that store identified Bishop as the suspected buyer, documents said. A clerk told police that he “comes in all the time.”

Surveillance video subsequently aided the suspect's identification. The investigating officer also noted that Bishop forgot one letter when he incorrectly spelled the victim's name on the receipt for the alleged illegal purchase.

Police said it didn't take them long to find the defendant, who admitted that he took the victim's card and used it to buy a carton of cigarettes.

Bishop was arraigned Friday on a felony charge of forgery and misdemeanor charges of access device fraud, identity theft and receiving stolen property.

He was released on his own recognizance following arraignment.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled Feb. 21.