ELKINS — The Magistrate Court of Randolph County announced that Philip James Merriman, of Elkins, is facing a felony embezzlement charge.

Merriman, of 210 Teaberry Hills, is accused of stealing and giving away items from his then employer AutoZone, which is located at 1404 Harrison Ave.

On Jan. 20, Elkins Police Department Senior Patrolman K.A. Shiflett was dispatched to the AutoZone store in reference to embezzlement. Upon his arrival, Shiflett spoke with the loss prevention manager of the store and was advised that Merriman had been stealing cash from the cashier drawer, along with stealing products from the store and giving people from the store that were not purchased.

The manager said that he had Merriman walk through the store and scan every item he states he had stolen from the store. The manager also provided the officer with the approximate amount of cash that had been stolen, along with a list of how short Merriman’s drawer was. The officer was also provided with a list of questions and answered from Merriman in which he confesses to the thefts.

The officer advised Merriman of Miranda Rights, which he waived advising that he would still like to speak with Shiflett. During this time, Merriman confessed to the theft of cash from the drawers, along with the theft of products. The total amount of products which were stolen were valued at approximately $2,203.33. The total amount of cash stolen was $850.

Merriman is currently free on a $700 cash bond.