FLEMINGSBURG —A Nicholas County man was recently arrested in connection to an investigation into a theft at a Flemingsburg business.
Joseph Smith, 36, of Carlisle, was arrested Friday, Jan. 4, by Carlisle Police for allegedly stealing cash from Cheap’s Chevrolet car dealership in Flemingsburg.
According to officers with the Flemingsburg Police Department, the agency was contacted on Aug. 30, 2018 by John Hyatt of Cheap’s Chevrolet regarding the theft of a large sum of money from the dealership.
A review of video surveillance revealed a lone perpetrator walked onto the lot of Cheap’s Chevrolet and retrieved a money box which had been placed in the owner’s locked vehicle. This money box was being transported from the dealership to a secure location overnight.
Police believed the suspect involved with stealing the money was an employee with the dealership, and Smith was employed there at the time of the theft.
Allegedly, Smith had walked onto the dealership, went directly to the owner’s vehicle, stole this money box and fled the scene in less than three minutes.
Additionally, it was determined that Smith stole a set of keys to the owner’s vehicle from the dealership prior to the theft of the money box. Smith allegedly used these stolen keys to access the vehicle without causing damage to the vehicle or alerting anyone to the theft.
During the investigation, Smith was identified as the perpetrator and was indicted by a Fleming County grand jury on Dec. 21, 2018, where he was charged with theft by unlawful taking in an amount over $10,000. The charge is a class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Smith is currently lodged in the Mason County Detention Center and being held under a $60,000 cash bond.
This incident remains under investigation by Chief Brian Bowling.
