The Daily Times of Deleware, Pa., reported this past weekend that one local used-car dealer charged with rolling back the odometer on a 1998 Jeep Cherokee has a different story to tell.

The dealer and his attorney are claiming that a mechanical defect was the cause of the erroneous mileage reading.

The report stated that David Gill, general manager of DiFilippo Brothers Motor Cars, is being charged with alteration of true mileage statement, deceptive business practices and the misdemeanor charge of tampering with public records.

And Gill’s attorney, Michael Malloy, disputes the allegations, blaming the odometer readings on what he called a “mechanical glitch.”

Highlighting the background on the case, Gill sold a Jeep Cherokee to customer Rodney Gilmore in December 2010 for $9,295, with an odometer that showed 67,189 miles — according to the affidavit of probable cause written by Pennsylvania State Trooper Louis Vitali.

But the PennDOT records painted a different picture: the records obtained by Vitali showed the Jeep’s last reported mileage as 84,210, reported the Daily Times.

Malloy apparently said, “We know for a fact now the (odometer) is now back further than when the complainant drove it.

“We can’t say why it’s happening,” he was reported saying.

But according to the affidavit, Gilmore ran a Carfax report on the Jeep shortly after he bought the unit. And this report showed apparently showed the mileage on the vehicle was much higher.

“Gilmore called the dealership and spoke with a woman who confirmed the mileage on the title was in fact 84,210, not 67,189, according to the affidavit,” the Daily Times reported.

But Gill claims that on the date of sale, the vehicle title was unavailable and he took the mileage from the odometer to complete the paperwork.

According to a report from Vitali, Gill also told him the mileage on the paperwork for the sale was a typing error.

And Malloy noted in a letter sent to Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Wills dated Feb. 3,  when Gilmore purchased the Jeep, the mileage was 67,189.

But when he returned it to the dealer three months later, the odometer read 68,036, indicating the Jeep had been driven approximately 10 miles a day over three months, according to the Daily Times report.

Though the case is still in the works, at the direction of the state police, the Jeep was parked at DeFilippo’s lot on March 10, 2011 and was not moved or even started until Jan. 12, 2012, which was the day of Gill’s arraignment, Malloy said in his letter.

When the car was started again, the odometer recorded 67,152, according to Malloy.

“It lost approximately 1,000 miles on the odometer on Jan. 12, 2012 without moving a mile,” Malloy was reported saying in his letter to the deputy district attorney.

Perhaps supporting Malloy’s claim concerning mechanical defects, he had the odometer tested and video recorded the mileage at the beginning of the test.

Then, the Jeep’s battery was allowed to go dead. When the vehicle was fired up again, the odometer had a different reading, the Daily Times reported.

Gill went before Magisterial District Judge Jack Lippart on Feb. 27 for a preliminary hearing.

He is scheduled for formal arraignment on March 29.

For more information, see the Daily Times report here.