BUCKHANNON – A Lewis County man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly using a credit card without the owner’s permission this past July.  

Jared Roles, 37, of Weston, was arrested for two counts of fraudulent use of an access device, a felony, and third-offense driving with a suspended operator’s license for unpaid citations, a misdemeanor.

According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Cpl. F.J. Turansky with the Buckhannon detachment of the West Virginia State Police, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, Turansky was conducting road patrol on U.S. Route 20 near the northern end of Buckhannon after sunset.

Turansky reportedly observed a maroon Mercury Milon traveling southbound with no headlights on. He initiated a traffic stop due to Roles’s failure to use headlights and subsequently identified Roles as the driver, according to the file.

Roles told police he was driving his mother’s vehicle, and allegedly admitted that his driver’s license was currently suspended due to unpaid citations, the complaint states. Upon investigation, Turansky discovered Roles had been convicted of driving with a suspended license for unpaid citations on two other occasions – Sept. 23, 2022, and Oct. 9, 2022.

Police also discovered Roles had an outstanding warrant for two counts of fraudulent use of an access device; Cpl. B.K. Wright, also with the Buckhannon detachment of the WVSP, had filed the complaint. According to that police report, on July 21, 2023, Roles was allegedly observed on security video at the Buckhannon GoMart, making two purchases with a credit card.

He had allegedly taken the credit card from a relative, the victim, without her permission. Roles allegedly used the card owned by the victim to make two purchases. The first purchase was for $13.41and the second for $20.63, totaling $34.04. Roles allegedly made three additional purchases with the same card on the same date in other counties. Wright noted the total amount spent was $216.18.

The GoMart security video was shown to the victim, who confirmed the person in the video using the card was her relative, Roles.

Bail was set at $20,000 cash or surety by Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis.

The potential penalty for a conviction on each count of fraudulent use of an access device is a fine of not more than $10,000, confinement in the state penitentiary for not more than 10 years, or both.

The possible penalty for a conviction of third-offense driving suspended for unpaid citations is confinement in jail for a period of not less than 30 days nor more than 90 days and a fine of not less than $150 nor more than $500.