Arkansas Man Convicted Of Transporting Stolen Oilfied Equipment

A federal jury this morning in Midland convicted David Julius “Cowboy” McMillian, 56, of interstate transportation of a stolen 1.5 million BTU indirect heater.  McMillian, who resides in Mountain Pine, Arkansas, faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on July 11, 2013.

Testimony at trial established that in late December 2010, McMillian, doing business as “Cowboy’s Energy Services,” arranged to lease the indirect heater, which is used in the oilfield, from McKay Equipment Company in Odessa at a rate of $200 per day.  McMillian sent a truck to pick up the indirect heater, which was mounted on a gooseneck trailer, on December 29.   Thereafter, McMillian made no rental payments whatsoever to McKay Equipment Company, and repeatedly failed to respond to telephone calls, emails, and letters demanding payment and/or return of the property.

Ultimately, the FBI’s Midland-based Oilfield Theft Task Force, with the assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police, located the indirect heater abandoned at a storage facility near Indiana, Pennsylvania in 2012. Testimony at trial established that McMillian failed to make promised payments to the owner of the storage facility as well, and similarly failed to meaningfully respond to that business’s demand for payment.

Assistant United States Attorney John S. Klassen prosecuted the case for the Department of Justice.