BARNETT TWP., Pa. (EYT) – A Tionesta man is facing criminal charges after he allegedly received an advance payment for carpentry services and then failed to do the work or return the money to the victim.

According to court documents, on April 8, 2019, Marienville-based State Police filed the following criminal charges against 24-year-old Andrew Marshall Jones, of Tionesta:

– Receives Advance Payment For Services and Fails to Perform, Felony 3
– Theft By Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Misdemeanor 1
– Receiving Stolen Property, Misdemeanor 1

The charges stem from an advance payment of $4,500.00 and another payment of $2,000.00 that Andrew Jones received in September of 2018 to perform home improvement services or provide home improvement materials at camps located at 656 McCullough Lane and 659 McCullough Lane, in Barnett Township, Forest County..

According to a criminal complaint, on September 26, 2018, around 10:58 a.m., Trooper Brandon Collett, of the Pennsylvania State Police, Troop C, Marienville, was dispatched to PSP Marienville barracks in reference to stolen roofing material from a job site.

Around 11:03 a.m., Trooper Collett interviewed the known victim who related that he hired Andrew Jones to level and replace the roofs of two camps located at 656 McCullough Lane and 659 McCullough Lane, in Barnett Township. The victim stated that Jones told him it would take three to four days to perform the work on the one camp and six to seven days for the other camp. The victim advised that if the deadline was extended, the work was to be done before snowfall.

According to the victim, on July 6, 2018, Jones emailed him a contract statement referencing the work he was going to do with the camps in the amount of $4,600.00. The victim advised that he had already filled out a check for $4,500.00 and mailed it to Jones on July 7, 2018.

Jones took the check to the bank and then advised the victim that since the check was an out-of-state check, there was a five-day hold placed on it. Jones told the victim that, because the bank was holding the check, he couldn’t get started on the work/or purchase materials because he didn’t have the money, according to the complaint.

On July 9, 2018, the victim’s wife delivered $2,000.00 cash to Jones. On July 10, 2018, the $4,500.00 check was cashed by Jones. The total amount the victim paid to Jones for the entire job was $6,500.00, the complaint states.

The victim said that Jones leveled and roofed one camp but never repaired the facia per contract. He said that he contacted Jones numerous times from September 14, 2018, to the current date (September 26, 2018) via telephone call and by text message, but Jones never answered, the complaint indicates.

The victim related he then went to his camp and noticed the green metal roofing for one camp valued at approximately $873.48, and his Chicago framing nailer valued at approximately $189.00 were missing from inside one of the camps. Around 9:40 a.m. on September 26, the victim went to Jones’ house and knocked on the door. Jones came to the door and acted like he was going to open it, but when he saw the victim through the door window, he refused to open the door and walked away. The victim waited a few minutes and knocked again, but there was no answer. While the victim was at Jones’ residence, he observed Jones’ truck in the driveway with a sheet of green metal roofing in the bed of it.

On October 18, 2018, around 9:35 a.m., Trooper Collett interviewed Jones at PSP Marienville. Jones stated there was no deadline for the work to be done on the camps and advised he told (the victim) he would get them done as soon as possible. Jones stated (the victim) gave him a check for $4,500.00 for the first contract agreement. He also stated that the $2,000.00 cash was to be paid at the end of the job, but he requested all of the money at once, which he did receive. Jones further stated that he purchased the roofing materials using the money supplied by (the victim).

Jones said that he took the materials to the job site, and he hasn’t moved any of it.

Trooper Collett asked why some metal roofing was in the back of his truck. Jones advised that he was doing another roofing job for a Lickingville man. Jones said he is not returning to (the victim’s) property to finish the job, and that some of the work that needs to be done is not listed in the contract. He also related the only work not done was the roof on the one camp, according to the complaint.

On February 1, 2019, around 1:20 p.m., Trooper Collett went to the Lickingville house and interviewed a resident. It was learned that the residents hired Jones to do roof work earlier in the year. He started the work on September 11, 2018, and when he first started the work, he came to the job site with eight sheets of green roofing that he advised were left over from the last job in Warren County.

On February 2, 2019, around 1:13 p.m., Trooper Collett spoke with Jones at District Court 18-3-02 in Shippenville. He informed Jones that he interviewed the Lickingville resident and was advised that Jones brought “extra” roofing sheets from his previous roofing job in Warren County.

Trooper Collett asked Jones who he worked for in Warren County, and Jones was only able to remember the name “Bill” and recalled it was a white, two-story residence. He recalled the directions as a “back road that goes from Warren to Tionesta.” He suggested he could look at the paperwork he has on his prior jobs and let Trooper Collett know within two weeks.

On February 16, around 8:33 p.m., Trooper Collett spoke with Jones via telephone. Jones said that he couldn’t find the guy’s name (from the Warren County job) in his prior jobs records. He related he was there for two days and knew the guy’s name was “Bob.” He also stated the man was from Florida. Jones said he took the four-lane highway toward Warren and then turned onto a back road. He related it was a white, two-story residence. He also said the man let him take five to 10 green metal sheets left over from this job, according to the complaint.

Based on Trooper Collett’s investigation, Jones was arraigned at 2:15 p.m. on Monday, April 8, in Magisterial District Judge Daniel L. Miller’s office.

Jones is currently free on $10,000.00 unsecured bail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on April 30 with Judge Miller presiding.