Lockport man jailed on theft charges

A Lockport man charged with defrauding people in New Lenox, Bolingbrook and Braidwood has been transferred from a Pennsylvania detention facility to the Will County jail.

Warrants were issued last year for the arrest of Joseph Hisel, 53, on theft charges but he was not arrested as he was locked up in Pennsylvania on several other charges.

On Tuesday, Hisel was taken from the Allegheny County jail in Pittsburgh to the Will County jail in Joliet, according to Will County Sheriff spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer.

Hisel made a video court appearance from the jail Wednesday and was appointed an assistant public defender, court records show.

On May 21, Hisel pleaded guilty to theft by deception, according to the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania’s website.

Last year, Hisel was charged with theft following investigations by the New Lenox, Bolingbrook and Braidwood police departments.

New Lenox Deputy Police Chief Micah Nuesse said officers investigated a theft complaint last July and learned Hisel accepted a $7,000 down payment for construction work. Hisel did very little work and would not give a full refund of the deposit when the alleged victim asked to end the job, Nuesse said.

Bolingbrook police Lt. Anthony Columbus said Hisel was contracted by a man in Bolingbrook to build a backyard deck after viewing an ad for Honey Dew Improvements on the Bolingbrook Friends and Neighbors Facebook page.

The man provided $6,700, half of the down payment, and agreed to a completion date in May 2020, Columbus said.

“Hisel poured footings for the deck but failed to perform any additional work. Attempts by the victim to have the work completed or receive a refund were met with negative results,” Columbus said.

Hisel submitted handwritten letters in his Will County theft cases where he contested the charges against him.

“I am now in a battle for my life with COVID-19 due to in part Will County has holds on me for thefts I’ve explained I had no part in,” Hisel wrote in a letter dated Dec. 14.