MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — More details are coming out about a Waco contractor with an alleged history of not finishing projects.
6 News first brought this 6 Fix to viewers on Feb. 28, 2024, after a Robinson man reached out for help.
Police reportedly arrested Joseph Evans with Evanson Construction after a 6 Fix segment over a similar situation but with a different client.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by 6 News, investigators said a Waco woman paid Evans nearly $16,000 back in 2020.
After two years of waiting, no work was completed and communication had stopped.
Russell Westbrook in Robinson originally reached out for help and told 6 News he hired Evanson Construction for an extensive remodel of his home. Now his home is unlivable and he is out $24,000.
Westbrook spoke with 6 News about the recent arrest.
"I was happy to hear it, but I wasn't surprised either," Westbrook said. "They reap what they sow."
Westbrook hopes more people will come forward in light of this story. He says Evans has been getting away with this for too long.
"With this exposure, maybe a judge or the McLennan County Sheriff will get wind of it," Westbrook said. "This guy needs to be stopped. The streets would be safer without him out there."
6 News also tracked down the judge who signed the arrest warrant.
Judge Bobby Garcia is the Presiding Judge of the Waco Municipal Court. He also serves as a Magistrate and is the Director of the Municipal Court.
"Any type of person that you're hiring, even sometimes attorneys that you're hiring, you kind of want to be careful not to give all the money upfront," Garcia said. "You obviously want to get a signed contract because that's the contract that you're going to use when you go and you seek civil remedies."
If it is a value of under $20,000, you can go to the Justice of the Peace to file a small claims suit.
"You do not need a lawyer to file those types of cases and then you can try to recover your money that way," Garcia added.
There are also other remedies people might not be aware of.
"Once you get a judgment there are different kinds of remedies, even to the point of where a receiver gets appointed, and that person could literally go to that contractor's home and recover any non-exempt assets," Garcia said. "They could actually sell off the person's equipment and vehicles. Sometimes those types of cases take longer. The criminal route is different because the person would get punished with jail time."
Garcia has been scammed himself, so he knows it can be frustrating.
"Our natural instinct is to trust people that are really nice," said Garcia. "They are a lot of people that are very charming. The one person that I dealt with was very charming. He had a good business that you Google and it was there. Everything was there, but you have to check what work they've done, who they've worked with. Educate yourself always and don't just hand out lumps of money to people that you really don't know."
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