Keith R. Smith

CRANBERRY TWP — The case of an auto repair shop owner accused of putting 5,000 miles on a pickup truck that a customer brought in for an inspection and new tires has moved on to county Common Pleas Court.

A felony charge of theft by unlawful taking and a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle filed by township police against Keith R. Smith, 66, owner of Oilology, were ordered held for court Friday, May 19, in a preliminary hearing by District Judge Kevin Flaherty.

Hearings scheduled for Friday for three similar cases against Smith were continued to June 16.

Previously, he was held for court in two cases containing similar allegations. Vehicles owned by more than 10 of his customers are involved in the six cases that Cranberry Township and state police filed against Smith.

In Friday’s hearing, Mary Zervos of Mars testified she had her 2004 Ford F-350 truck with a little less than 95,000 miles on it taken to Oilology in July 2022 to have it inspected so she could sell it at an auction she was having at her home.

Smith told her the inspection would not be completed in time for the auction, so she had the truck driven back to her home.

When she had the truck taken back to Oilology later in July, Smith gave her an estimate of $800 for the inspection, two new tires and new cab corners, Zervos said.

She said Oilology is two or three miles from her home.

In March this year, she said a friend of hers called and said he saw the truck parked in front of a house not far from her home. She said she drove there and took a photo of the truck.

Smith told her the truck was at his mother-in-law’s home, she said.

On March 29, she said she called police after seeing news reports about Smith facing legal problems, and had the truck returned to her home.

When she got the truck back, it had about 100,400 miles on it and none of the agreed upon work had been done, she said.

Zervos said she had taken vehicles to the shop in the past and didn’t experience any problems.

Ryan Morris, testified that he saw Zervos’s truck parked at a home on David Hill Road on March 12, took a photo of it and called Zervos.

He said was familiar with the truck after having ridden in it many times while working for Zervos’ late husband, Frank Zervos, who worked in construction.

Officer Robin Winters testified that she and a detective began investigating the case after Zervos reported that she heard news reports about Smith and that he had her truck for eight months.

Between July 2022 and March 2023, license plate readers took photos of the truck and its license plate at Pennsylvania Turnpike exits in Butler and Allegheny counties, Winters said.

Some of the photos showed large objects in the truck bed, she said. In other photos, the tonneau cover was in different positions on the bed, she said.

The truck had 100,464 miles on it when it was returned to Zervos on March 29, Winters said.