EMLENTON BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has filed charges against an Emlenton man for making moonshine in a camper behind his residence.

According to court documents, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) Enforcement filed the following criminal charges against 44-year-old Nicholas Brian Shay :

– Fail Distill/Wineries To Get License, Misdemeanor (two counts)

Through an investigation initiated by the PLCB Enforcement, District 8, the following information was discovered:

– Shay illegally possessed Mason jars containing liquor (moonshine) in a trailer located behind his residence located on College Street, in Emlenton Borough, Venango County.

– Shay illegally manufactured moonshine without a license between November 1, 2017, through January 7, 2018.

According to a criminal complaint, on January 8, 2018, Office O’Neil, of the Emlenton Borough Police Department, contacted Officer Whitted, of the PLCB, to report that while investigating a runaway, he encountered moonshine in a Still located in a camper behind a residence on College Street in Emlenton.

Officer O’Neil stated that he had the moonshine in evidence and that the minor’s grandmother turned it over to him.

Officer O’Neil had responded to College Street for a known male juvenile runaway.

Upon arriving on the scene, Officer O’Neil spoke with the juvenile’s grandmother who stated that her grandson had left the residence at 10:00 p.m. on January 7. She stated that she found a Mason jar with clear liquid in the known juvenile’s bedroom

She told police that she had spoken to Nicholas Shay. He came to her house and stated that he followed footprints from his camper out back to her residence and that he was missing a jar of White Lightning.

The woman reported that Shay told her there was a Still in the camper and that everything was legal, according to the complaint.

The juvenile’s grandmother also told police that Shay told her the Pennsylvania State Police were at his residence not long ago for a known juvenile, and there were no issues.

Officer O’Neil had placed the known juvenile in custody. He was put into placement at Keystone Adolescent Center located in Greenville, Mercer County.

Authorities received a statement from the juvenile’s sister. She said that her brother told her that he took eight jars of the moonshine from Shay’s camper and gave them to his friends.

After several attempts to contact Shay, Officer Whitted spoke to him on the phone. It was learned that Shay worked in Bloomsburg and comes to his Emlenton residence on the weekends.

He told Officer Whitted that he did nothing wrong and did not believe that making moonshine for his own use was illegal. He indicated that he did not make it for resale, according to the complaint.

Shay faces a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. on January 9 in front of Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey.

A certified summons was issued on December 3.