A roofer never returned to finish a project after he was paid more than $65,000, according to Laredo police.
Gustavo Duenez-Ricalde Jr., 43, was served with arrest warrants on Jan. 18 charging him with theft of property and deceptive trade practice.
The case dates back to Nov. 1. At about 3:16 p.m., a man stated that a person he identified as Duenez-Ricalde had abandoned a roofing job after paying him $65,786.
The roofing project started on May 12 when Duenez-Ricalde was given an initial check for $57,471.60 from Texas Community Bank, according to an arrest affidavit.
A second payment was requested in August, and Duenez-Ricalde was given a second check for $8,314.40. After Duenez-Ricalde received the second check, he stopped going to work, court documents state.
He gave different excuses such as material on back order, that he was sick and that he had difficulty with employees. Duenez-Ricalde then stopped answering phone calls, the affidavit states.
When police spoke to Duenez-Ricalde, he gave the same type of excuses he gave to the complainant. Duenez-Ricalde promised to begin work on Nov. 7 and added he would finish the roofing job within two weeks, according to police.
Asked for the receipts for the roofing materials he had purchased, he never provided them, according to court documents.
The complainant called police on Nov. 7 saying that Duenez-Ricalde did not show up to continue with the roofing job at his home.
Further investigation revealed that Duenez-Ricalde did not obtain a building permit from the City of Laredo Building Department to replace the roof in the 200 block of Regal Drive.
The complainant stated his home had interior damage to his ceilings due to the house being without a roof, according to court documents.
