A Linton man who'd been provided a trailer to live in rent free in exchange for work on a farm is accused of stealing the host’s six golf cart batteries and selling them to a recycling center. The replacement cost for the batteries was estimated to be over $700 but the suspect allegedly sold them for under $40.

Paul Raymond McCormick, 32, Linton, was arrested by Deputy James Carpenter of the Greene County Sheriff's Department yesterday, Monday, May 9.

Last Friday afternoon, May 6, a man who owns a farm in the rural Linton area reported a theft to the Greene County Sheriff's Department. He said he owned an electric golf cart that was pushed over to the side of his shop, but when he went to work on it earlier that day, the six batteries on the cart were missing. He said they were two years old.

The farm owner then explained that he drove to J&M Recycling near Worthington and noticed six Rural King 6-volt batteries sitting in a stack. Two of the batteries had two studs replaced with screws. He said he was having grounding issues and he had changed the studs out to screws. So he bought the batteries back from J&M for $33.68. He also said J&M provided him with a receipt that was dated May 4 that showed Paul McCormick had sold the six batteries to J&M for $33.68.

The man recognized the name Paul McCormick because he let him move into a trailer on his farm approximately four weeks earlier with an agreement that McCormick was going to help out on the farm and would not have to pay rent, plus at the end of the year, they would split the profits made, and that he had given a key to the shop to McCormick so he could get tools when he was working.

That same afternoon Deputy Carpenter went to J&M and spoke with an individual who said McCormick came into the recycling center first thing when they opened on May 4. Deputy Carpenter also spoke to an employee who helped McCormick move the batteries then weigh them.

Deputy Carpenter was provided with video from the security system that showed McCormick getting out of his truck and the two men loading the batteries onto a forklift then taking them inside to put on the scale before entering the office to get paid $33.68 for the six batteries.

Deputy Carpenter then priced the same model of batteries at Rural King at $99 each plus a $12 core charge plus tax which totaled up to a replacement cost of $713.94.

When Deputy Carpenter returned to the farm, McCormick walked out of the trailer and the deputy recognized him as the man he'd seen in the video selling the batteries. McCormick allegedly said he didn't know anything about the missing batteries and he also denied selling any batteries on May 4.

Deputy Carpenter noted that McCormick was previously convicted and sentenced for theft in Sullivan County on May 24, 2021.

McCormick was taken into custody and booked into the Greene County Jail around 12:40 PM yesterday, May 9, with bond set at $5000 surety with 10% cash allowed.

A criminal case was filed against McCormick earlier today in Greene Superior Court. When he appears for his initial hearing, he will be charged with:

• Theft with a prior conviction, a Level 6 felony, and

• Theft, a Class A misdemeanor.