Warrants issued for four in theft of property cases
Warrants reportedly have been issued by the Bella Vista Police Department for the arrest of four individuals in cases related to theft by deception, including deceiving an elderly Bella Vista resident with dementia out of more than $80,000.
Bella Vista police say the warrants have been issued for:
Adam Houston, 35, of Reeds, Mo.;
Shannon Myers, 43, of Carthage, Mo.;
Makayla Houston, 32, of Jasper, Mo.; and
LeRoy Ellis Stark, III, 31, of Pine Bluff, Ark.
Charges for all four are said to allege theft of property and criminal penalties for the abuse of an endangered or impaired person, both Class B felonies.
Bella Vista Police say, “These four suspects are known for operating deceptive business practices in the four-state area, including northeast Oklahoma, southeast Kansas, and southwest Missouri.
” Several incidents were reported in Bella Vista in June 2021 involving these individuals scamming elderly residents out of money for work done on their homes that was unnecessary or incomplete. In most cases, two of the four would show up to a residence and offer to do work, such as driveway resurfacing, yard work or roof cleaning. The subjects would then either be paid up front and never return or would pretend to perform such work and find other jobs they said needed done, such as chimney cleaning.
All victims in these recently reported cases were reported to be over the age of 70.
Police say, “One report states the elderly man with dementia in February paid these individuals approximately $81,000 in multiple installments for a few trees cut, a small deck painted, and a small amount of concrete work done. When detectives approached reputable contractors to compare the actual costs of these projects that were completed, estimates received totaled only about $7,000.
“The multiple payments to Houston and the others resulted in this man’s bank account balance to be negative by thousands of dollars.
“Houston pleaded guilty in 2019 in Jasper County to deceptive business practices and was ordered to refrain from entering into any contract with elderly individuals, according to police documents, ” police said.