KANE — A Kane man remains in McKean County Jail for allegedly causing more than $13,000 in damages to an oil lease in May because of a dispute with its owner.
James Morgan, 31, of 8 Park Lane, is charged with ecoterrorism, a second-degree felony, risking a catastrophe and criminal mischief-catastrophe, both third-degree felonies.
According to the criminal complaint, at 6:45 a.m. May 29, state police were dispatched to the intersection of JoJo Road and Forest Road 133 in Wetmore Township to meet the victim, who was reporting damage to an oil lease.
The trooper accompanied the victim to the scene, and was told the man operates the oil lease there, as well as additional well jacks near it. One of the owners of the lease went to the tank battery site and saw fuel leaking out of a tank that holds gasoline, and saw damage to other equipment, including to tanks that hold crude oil. He called the victim to make him aware of it, the complaint stated.
The victim told police he believed Morgan was the vandal, as there was an ongoing issue with the two of them and Morgan was seen driving his truck in the area the night the damages were seen, the complaint read.
The trooper interviewed Morgan later that morning, and Morgan admitted to damaging the tank battery site on May 28. He said he parked near the lease, took a shovel, walked in and hit the filter on the gasoline tank, making it leak onto the ground. He also hit the piping connected to the crude oil tank “intending to allow all the product (crude oil) to release and be spilled onto the ground,” according to the complaint.
He told the trooper he had worked for the company and didn’t like the victim, and made the trooper aware the damage was intentional to cause problems for the victim, the complaint stated.
The victim provided documentation and invoices totaling $13,677.26 to repair the items damaged and to clean up the spilled product, according to the complaint.
Morgan was arrested and arraigned July 9 before on-call District Judge Dom Cercone, who remanded him to jail in lieu of $75,000 bail. He was scheduled to appear in Central Court on Thursday, but no further information was immediately available on his case.
Morgan is represented by attorney Robert Kinnear.
