A warrant has been authorized against an Ortonville resident after he allegedly stole natural gas from a neighbor.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office authorized the warrant last week against Jason David Vickory for larceny $200 or more, but less than $1,000.
According to police reports, Vickory’s neighbor noticed an unusual increase in her Consumers Energy bill in February. She called the company, who sent a service technician out to her apartment on James Street to see what the trouble was. The CE employee discovered that Vickory, who shares a basement with the woman, had a lock on his gas meter and had hooked up a gas line from her water heater to his furnace.
When questioned by police, Vickory said he hadn’t intentionally hooked into his neighbor’s gas line, he had only been trying to even out pressure between their pilot lights. He then said he hadn’t realized his gas had been shut off (for non-payment) and he was not aware his home was being heated by his neighbor. After he learned it was shut off, Vickory said the amount he owed was beyond his ability to pay and he knowingly left the line connected to his neighbor in order to heat his apartment for his fiancee and her daughter. He offered to pay her $300, but the woman called police and has calculated the money she is owed as $502.24.