Paul Gardner, who lists an address in Springfield, entered a no contest plea in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday to charges related to his taking approximately $9,000 as a downpayment to build a deck on a vacation home, never completing the work or returning the money.
Gardner was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to repay the property owners $4,000 within 30 days and the balance in monthly payments.
The complaint was originally filed in court in February last year. The couple, who lives in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, own a vacation home along County Road 815 in the Gamaliel area.
The 34-year-old Gardner was hired to build the deck on the home in early June 2015. The couple gave Gardner a check for almost $9,800 as a downpayment on the estimated $12,450 deck job. The home owners reported Gardner and two individuals came to the vacation home on September 5, 2015 and worked for approximately four hours. The home owners estimated Gardner and his helpers also used about $110 in materials and they said they were willing to credit Gardner a total of $750 for the labor and material.
Since that time, the home owners have made numerous attempts to convince Gardner to either do the work or return the money. He had done neither and eventually stopped communicating with the property owners.
The home owners then reported the situation to law enforcement resulting in the filing of a criminal case charging Gardner with theft of property.
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