A Greer, S.C., man accused in Hall County of stealing motor oil refused extradition this week, as investigators in three states continue scrutinizing similar thefts at car dealerships and auto shops dating back at least a year.

Robert H. Charping, 50, is in custody at Greenville County Detention Center in Greenville, S.C., where officials await legal paperwork ordering his release to the Hall County Sheriff's Office.

He has been charged here with two felony counts of theft by taking for separate Sept. 2 incidents on Browns Bridge Road. And deputies have surveillance footage to support their case, said Capt. Woodrow Tripp, who supervises the criminal investigations division.

"Clearly, the video puts (him) right there," Tripp said.
A witness foiled what may have been Charping's second stop at the Milton Martin Honda dealership on Jan. 21, Tripp said, with a 911 call about a suspicious tanker.

It was the second unusual call from the business in less than five months.

Milton Martin's parts manager told police Sept. 2 that used and new motor oil housed in holding tanks behind the business had been stolen, according to the incident report.

The witness, a delivery person, knew similar crimes happened elsewhere. So he called police after spotting the tanker early on the morning of Jan. 21.

Responding patrol officers stopped the vehicle and interviewed two men inside, including Charping, Tripp said. Since no crime had taken place, the men drove away free.

But the traffic stop led Investigator Scott Lilly back to the earlier theft. He combed through Milton Martin's video footage and saw the same two men on camera, Tripp said.

"He started exploring the video, going back months," he added. "They then were able to locate the Sept. 2 incident. It was the same truck and everything."

Lilly said Charping took about 1,100 gallons of oil from Milton Martin Honda as well as new oil totaling $1,512.50 from Carriage Motors, also located on Browns Bridge Road, according to arrest warrants. Both thefts happened Sept. 2, the documents said.

Sheriff's investigators briefly pursued the second man, Joshua L. Pittman, 23. But they learned the South Carolina resident died Jan. 4 after a car wreck in his home state, said Detective Jason Bash, a Greer Police Department investigator.

In addition to crimes in Hall County, the men were charged with taking 140 gallons of oil Nov. 28 from a Sears Auto Center in Burlington, N.C., Bash said.

Greer police are studying cases that may match, as well.

"It's still an open investigation," said Bash, adding that his agency is not pursuing charges at this time.

"We are looking at him as a suspect."

The market for used motor oil, which can be recycled and reused in various ways, rests heavily on oil costs in general, Bash explained.

Depending on the market, auto shops may have to pay to have its used oil removed. When oil prices are high, however, small waste companies will pay auto centers for the waste.

In lean times, car outfits might not report oil that mysteriously goes missing from their holding tanks, Bash said.

But with current demand favoring the auto businesses, Bash said reports are being filed more often from businesses claiming they are being cheated. One of his cases involves an auto shop chain that has estimated its losses around $30,000, Bash said. Deputies here estimated the Milton Martin theft cost $6,000.

"The price of oil is high," Bash said. "(Car centers would) make money off the old oil. So that money is being stolen."

Charping's criminal history dates back to 1977, Bash said.

His last conviction resulted from 2009 domestic violence charges. He pleaded guilty to assault and battery, high in aggravated nature, Bash said.

His arrest on Jan. 29 came about week after a single-vehicle accident in which Charping overturned a tanker belonging to his employer, M&M Waste Oil in Greer, Bash said. Charping claimed a driver from a rival company was chasing him when he lost control of the vehicle, the detective said.

The tanker did contain oil at the time. The company was fined for a spill caused by the accident, Bash said.