Former Co-Op Employee Pleads Guilty To Stealing, Selling Fuel

Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 7:27 AM

By Mike Perleberg Steven D. Linville. Photo by Ripley County Sheriff's Office. (Versailles, Ind.) - A former employee has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the theft of more than $100,000 worth of fuel, oil, and other items from a Ripley County business. Steven D. Linville, 48, was accused of taking the goods from Laughery Valley Ag Co-op in Osgood over the course of a year. Stolen fuel was sold to an Osgood service station owned by a relative of Linville, Ripley County Commissioner Bob Linville. Steven Linville was arrested in February 2016 on 17 charges of Theft (level 6 felony) and 17 counts of Delivery of a False Sales Document (level 6 felony). On October 24, Linville pleaded guilty to six of the counts against him – three theft counts and three false document charges. His guilty plea is part of a negotiated plea agreement. Linville’s sentencing is scheduled for January 17, 2018 by Judge Ryan J. King in Ripley Superior Court. RELATED STORIES: Man Accused Of Stealing Fuel, Oil From Business; Allegedly Sold To Uncle Prosecutor: County Commissioner, Former Prosecutor Office Employee Under Investigation