Employee Faces Drug Charge, Possibly Theft, Too

A recent hire is accused of stealing from his new employer almost as soon as he started, possibly to feed his drug habit. Now, he faces jail time for possession and may face theft charges as well.

Anthony Lequia, 23, of Kenosha, was charged Monday in Racine County Circuit Court with a single count of felony possession of narcotic drugs. If convicted, he faces up to 3-1/2 years in prison and/or up to $10,000 in fines. 

According to the criminal complaint, Lequia was found with a small amount of heroin folded in a $20 bill after his employer caught him on video surveillance stealing money from the register, the mail, and the employer's own coat pockets.

Mount Pleasant Police say they were dispatched to Durand Automotive on Jan. 31 for a theft complaint. The owners told officers they started noticing money was missing the day after Lequia started work in Dec. 2012. Wanting to know who might behind the losses, the owners installed video surveillance cameras.

When officers arrived, the man showed them video footage of Lequia stealing from the register, using a screw driver to pry it open, going through the mail and rifling through the man's coat pockets. Lequia is also seen opening a file cabinet and taking a bank bag into the bathroom and returning the bag to the cabinet a few minutes later.

Officers say the owners also suspect Lequia of keeping the money from some cash transactions because daily receipts and register counts don't reconcile properly. The shop performs emissions tests for the state Department of Transportation and the man reportedly told police he needs to check DOT records with his cash records because Lequia may very well have been pocketing that money, too.

When MPPD arrived at the shop on Feb. 1 to arrest Lequia, they found a white powdered substance folded into a $20 bill in the defendant's wallet that later tested as heroin. When Lequia overheard one officer inform another officer about the test results, the defendant is reported as saying, "I was told it was cocaine when I bought it."

All told, Lequia is suspected of stealing almost $4,000 from the shop.

Lequia remains in the Racine County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond. His next court date for the possession charge is Feb. 13 for a preliminary hearing before Court Commissioner Alice A. Rudebusch. Court records do not indicate that theft charges have been filed.