Man accused of making moonshine waives hearing

From staff reports

An Emlenton man accused of making moonshine in a camper behind his College Street residence waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday in Venango County Central Court.

Nicholas Shay, 44, is charged with two misdemeanor counts of distilling without a license.

Emlenton police became aware of the moonshine in January 2018 while investigating a male juvenile runaway. Police found a jar of the homemade liquor in the boy’s room.

A criminal complaint says the boy’s grandmother had found the jar of clear liquid in her grandson’s bedroom. She told police that Shay told her that someone had stolen some of his moonshine and that he had followed footprints to her residence.

The runaway boy was found a few days later and placed in Keystone Adolescent Center in Greenville.

Police said the boy’s sister told them the boy had taken eight jars of moonshine from Shay’s property and given them to his friends.

The complaint says Shay told police by phone that he didn’t believe it was illegal to make moonshine for his personal use. He told police that some of the moonshine had been taken from his camper but that he had never sold or given it to anyone.