SAXONBURG — An Illinois man who allegedly tricked an employee of a Sarver trucking company into giving away sensitive information about the company and herself to fraudulently obtain $2,000 will remain in jail, despite his plea for reduced bail.

“I'm not trying to run or anything,“ Darran Thomas, 31, of Colton, Ill., told District Judge Sue Haggerty during a preliminary hearing Wednesday. ”I want to resolve this.“

On Oct. 6, state police charged Thomas with felony forgery, identity theft, theft by deception and unauthorized accessing of a device, related to an allegedly fraudulent check that cost the trucking company $2,000.

Since his arraignment Dec. 28, he has remained in Butler County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bond. Haggerty refused to reduce his bond.

Before bond was discussed, a hearing took place in which Thomas listened to testimony from a woman claiming he duped her and from the investigating officer in the case.

Molly Allen, of Wayne W. Sell Corp., said she answered a call Aug. 18 from a man identifying himself as Andrew Williams, a tech expert for EFS WexFleet One, a service her company uses to transfer money to drivers while they're on the road.

She said the man's familiarity with the company's website and procedures made her trust him.

“He knew everything,” she said. “He was very aware of everything on the website when I was looking at it.”

Allen said she later felt less comfortable and called the service provider. A representative told her no one named Andrew Williams worked there.

Allen said two checks were requested before the provider could freeze the account. One for $2,000 was cashed, but payment on the other was stopped before it could be cashed.

During cross-examination Wednesday, Thomas' public defender, Ryan Helsel, said the caller's number was not saved and could not be identified as his client's.

“We don't know the identity of the person who called you that day?” Helsel asked Allen. She responded, “no.”

Trooper Phillip Schneider, the investigating officer, said he received photographs from Currency Exchange in Cicero, Ill., where the check was cashed. The photographs show the check, Thomas in the store and Thomas' ID.

Schneider said the woman who helped Thomas cash the check also corroborated the identification from their interaction during that check cashing and a separate one.

“Both times, he removed his mask,” Schneider said.

Helsel asked the judge to reduce Thomas' bond to $5,000.

Following testimony, Helsel argued that Thomas was not tied to Pennsylvania, and he was not tied to making the call to the company.

Assistant District Attorney David Beichner opposed the reduction and handed Haggerty a criminal history for Thomas.

Haggerty said the file's contents and Thomas' home being outside the state were factors in denying his bond reduction.

“He's got a pretty lengthy history,” she said.

Thomas will next appear for formal arraignment March 8 in Butler County Common Pleas Court.