CHICORA — A Slippery Rock man saw one of his five felony charges dismissed at a preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Free on $5,000 bond, Jeffrey A. Wolfe, 38, appeared in court alongside his attorney, Sean Logue. He was charged with felonies of burglary, theft and three counts of receiving stolen property.

Wolfe is accused of breaking into a Marion Township garage in 2017, then selling about $2,500 worth of lawn equipment and an appliance from the garage.

District Judge Lewis Stoughton dismissed the burglary charge after an argument by Logue to dismiss all the charges. Stoughton held the other four charges for court, which sends the case to Butler County Court of Common Pleas.

“They don't have (evidence), not even close,” said Logue to begin his argument.

During cross-examination of the investigating trooper David Wellington, Logue asked if anyone had seen Wolfe break into the garage.

Wellington said a juvenile did not see Wolfe in the garage, but they knew he was there.

“To get a burglary, we need a witness,” Logue said. “There's no witness putting my client at the scene.”

However, the testimony of Wellington and one of the buyers of the stolen goods appeared to be enough for the other charges.

Wellington said three items were sold directly from the garage, including a riding lawn mower, a snow blower and a chest freezer. Wellington also noted that the owners of the garage have died since the crime occurred.

Wellington also described making contact with a buyer, and how that buyer picked Wolfe out of a lineup of photos.

The man who bought the lawn mower testified in court Tuesday said he was sure Wolfe was the man who sold him the stolen lawn mower for $350.

“We looked at the tractor,” the man said. “We talked about it for a few minutes. He asked me if I wanted to by a snow blower. We loaded it up, and I left.”

Logue asked the man if he knew the tractor was stolen.

“No idea,” the man said.

Logue tried to argue that his client may have come by the stolen items honestly, and there was little evidence acknowledging otherwise.

“There's not one witness from the commonwealth to say he unlawfully took something from the garage,” he said. “Based on what we've heard today, there's not enough.”

Assistant District Attorney David Beichner said even if there wasn't evidence linking Wolfe to the burglary and theft of the items, he still clearly sold the stolen items in a way that indicates he had stolen them.

“We have produced more than hearsay today,” Beichner said. “The items were taken and sold from the same garage of the reported burglary.”

Wolfe will appear Aug. 24 for a formal arraignment in the county courthouse.