A Slidell man pleaded guilty to stealing more than $80,000 of materials and equipment from Norco Manufacturing Complex that he used to make and sell crawfish burners.
Craig Wallace, 33, of 237 N. Military St., recently received a deferred five-year prison sentence and five years of active probation after pleading guilty to one count of theft of over $25,000. Wallace must also pay $50,000 restitution to his former employer now known as Shell-Motiva.
Wallace was arrested after allegedly taking stainless steel tubing and pipe fittings from the plant in 2015.
According to court documents, Wallace signed a statement admitting he took stainless steel fittings and gave them to fellow members of the company to weld them into crawfish burners.
The intention was to take the burners off site and sell them for $50 each. The statement also says Wallace took parts from other areas of the company to fabricate into burners and also took boxes of the steel fittings to his residence. The thefts were noted to take place between July 1 and October 31 of 2015.
St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Pat Yoes said surveillance footage helped lead the police to Wallace.
“The security manager at Shell Motiva was informed they were missing some tools,” Yoes said. “An investigation began and it was found through some surveillance video and access logs to the secure storeroom who entered (the room). Those things helped identify him as a suspect.”
Yoes said the materials were likely taken over a period of time, and not as a one-time theft.
Other terms of his probation dictate he must pay $400 reimbursement to the public defender’s office, as well as a $65 monthly supervision fee.
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