BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man was arrested this week for allegedly taking a chainsaw from a local hardware store valued at nearly $600.

Richard G. Gordon, 40, of Buckhannon, was arrested Tuesday, March 22 for shoplifting third offense, a felony, related to an incident that allegedly occurred in mid-February.

According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Sgt. T.M. Stewart with the Buckhannon Police Department, on Feb. 15, 2022, Gordon allegedly entered Lowe’s, walked down aisle 24 and removed a Husqvarna chainsaw that was secured to shelving by a metal cable.

Gordon, who was reportedly with an unidentified female, allegedly placed the chainsaw in a shopping cart and pushed the cart out the main entrance of Lowe’s without paying for the merchandise.

The value of the chainsaw was $599, according to the police report. The file says Gordon had previous shoplifting offenses with one conviction date in Upshur County of Nov. 16, 2021, and a second conviction date in Harrison County of March 1, 2021.

Bail was set at $7,500 cash or surety by Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis.

The penalty for a conviction of shoplifting third offense is confinement in the state penitentiary for not less than one year nor more than 10 years and a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000.