A former area man was recently sentenced to six and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to a handful of 19 charges of theft of collectible comic books from victims across the nation.
Michael David DeChellis, 57, of Aumsville with addresses also in Sweet Home and Lebanon, faced nine charges of first degree aggravated theft (theft of $10,000 or more) and 10 charges of first degree theft (theft of $1,000 or more) after the Linn County Sheriff’s Office completed a six month investigation into allegations from 19 separate victims.
He pleaded guilty to five counts of first degree aggravated theft, receiving a sentence of 30 days in jail, 78 months with the Oregon Dept. of Corrections, and 24 months post-prison supervision. A judgment of restitution paid to the victims is yet to come. The rest of the 14 charges were dismissed.
The investigation began on Feb. 5, 2024, when a victim from Maryland called the Linn County Sheriff’s Office to report he sent four comic books to “Hero Restoration,” located on Santiam Terrace Road, near Lebanon, in February 2019. According to the Secretary of State files, “Hero Restoration’s” principal place of business was located on 48th Loop in Sweet Home for the first four years. DeChellis also registered addresses in Salem and Lebanon.
The victim reported the comic books had a value of nearly $62,000 and he had also paid DeChellis, the owner of “Hero Restoration,” just over $5,000 for the restoration services he requested to be performed. The victim reported that DeChellis had not returned his comic books, had not refunded his money, and stopped communicating with him.
Shortly after receiving the complaint, investigators identified other customers of DeChellis who reported similar circumstances as the first victim. They reported their valuable comic books were sent to DeChellis for restoration, large fees for the service were paid, and the comic books were never returned.
The total value of the reported stolen comic books from the multiple victims and loss of restoration fees totaled more than $300,000. The customers reporting their comic books stolen were from the states of Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, Washington, Texas, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Colorado.
Investigators were able to determine that DeChellis filed articles of dissolution for his “Hero Restoration” business in 2023 with the Secretary of State’s Office. Investigators were able to determine some of the reported stolen comic books had been sold online as well as to a private comic book dealer in Washington after the dissolution of Hero Restoration.
Investigators attempted to contact DeChellis regarding the complaint, but found he had moved and they were unable to locate him for several months. He was tracked down on Aug. 14, 2024, living in the 10000 block of Stayton Road SE in Aumsville, and was arrested that day.
Investigators served a search warrant on the property where he was located and seized numerous comic books and evidence related to the thefts.