Small

BUCKHANNON — An Upshur County man is facing two felony charges after allegedly giving a man two worthless checks to buy a vehicle and shoplifting at Sheetz.

Joshua Small, 43, is charged with two counts of worthless checks and one count of third offense shoplifting, both felonies. Small is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $6,500 cash-only bond.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Sgt. J.A. Rich II with the West Virginia State Police, on Dec. 4, Rich was contacted by Senior Trooper G.B. Starcher in reference to assisting in locating an individual regarding an abandoned vehicle in Mount Clare in Harrison County.

Starcher told Rich that he had been working a fraud case allegedly involving Small and the vehicle was reportedly left by Small in another person’s driveway, the complaint states. On the same date, Rich met with the complainant who advised the victim had sold the vehicle to an individual, but when the victim went to cash the checks at the bank, he was told there was “insufficient funds” in the account.

While speaking with Rich, the complainant called the victim, who allegedly stated that he had sold the vehicle to Small for $2,000 in the form of two separate $1,000 checks, but the bank said there was insufficient funds in Small’s account, the complaint states.

On Dec. 5, the victim and the complainant provided Rich with copies of the two $1,000 checks, one dated for June 1, 2025 and the other dated July 1, 2025, the complaint states. The victim also provided a copy of the bill of sale that stated he was selling the vehicle to Small for $2,000, payable in two $1,000 checks. The bill of sale was allegedly signed by Small.

Rich informed both the victim and complainant that he would need to see bank documentation that showed that Small’s account had insufficient funds when the victim attempted to cash the checks, the complaint states. The victim later returned with a letter from the branch manager at First Community Bank. The letter allegedly confirmed that the victim had tried to cash the checks, but Small’s account was “non-sufficient,” and, as of that date, still did not have the sufficient funds to cash the checks.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Sgt. Darin K. Hissam with the Buckhannon City Police, on Jan. 21, Small allegedly entered the Sheetz gas station in Buckhannon.

Once inside, Small allegedly filled two coffee cups and picked up a burrito and a container of chicken alfredo, the complaint states. Small then reportedly took the four items to one of the self check-out kiosks where he “intentionally only scanned and paid for the chicken alfredo.” 

Small allegedly left the store after not scanning or paying for the three other items, which had a $10.07 total value, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Small reportedly has two prior shoplifting convictions from May 2025 and February 2021.