NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Almost four years after New Orleans police obtained a warrant for his arrest, a Texas contractor has been booked on theft charges, accused of taking money from two residents to repair their Hurricane Katrina-damaged homes but failing to complete the work.
NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports (https://bit.ly/1AmcTJX ) Raymond R. Mahavier, 46, of Lake Dallas, was booked Tuesday into the parish jail on two counts of theft from residents who hired his firm, Anchor Enterprises, to repair their homes.
In both cases, the homeowners said they paid Mahavier to do work that he never completed.
At the time he entered into the contracts, records show Mahavier lived in Ponchatoula.
In one case, a man entered into a $47,500 contract with Mahavier on Nov. 13, 2007. He gave Mahavier $25,000, but as of 2009, the work was still incomplete, records show.
A woman told police she entered into a $67,500 contract with Mahavier on Jan. 3, 2008, to repair her home, saying she gave him $53,025. However, she said Mahavier never installed the heating and air conditioning system, cabinets, countertops, flooring, exterior siding and interior doors. The woman said she then hired her cousin to finish the job. The cousin asserted he had to redo the electrical, plumbing and natural gas line work Mahavier did, in order to bring the work into compliance with municipal building code.
Detective Darren Brazley obtained an arrest warrant Aug. 18, 2011 for Mahavier. It’s unclear why Mahavier is only now being booked.
___
Information from: The Times-Picayune, https://www.nola.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.