A North Platte man who allegedly thought he’d found a way to get around his gas being shut off is instead facing felony charges.

According to Investigator John Deal, at around 8:09 a.m., on August 10, officers met with a representative from Northwestern Energy at a residence in the 1100 block of East 8th Street.

The representative told officers that natural gas service had been shut off to the residence, but a new, unauthorized, meter had been installed.

Officers investigated and learned that the meter had been stolen from a business outside the city limits of North Platte.  Further investigation revealed that several units of gas had been fraudulently used at the residence.

Officers soon determined that their suspect, and the resident of the house, was  36-year-old Nicholas MacMillan.

Officers were unable to locate MacMillan until, on August 17, an officer spotted him on a skateboard near the intersection of 10th Street and Bryan Avenue.  He was taken into custody, without incident, and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.

He’s been charged with possession of stolen property and theft of services.  MacMillan is also facing county theft charges for stealing the gas meter.  Deal said the charges were enhanced to felonies due to prior convictions.

MacMillan’s bond has been set at ten percent of $5,000.