A man charged with stealing the truck of a Good Samaritan who had stopped to help him appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal Division September 22.
Twenty-five-year-old Joseph Walker Langston, Jr., entered a guilty plea to the charges against him and was sentenced to 10 days in the Baxter County Detention Center followed by 3 years of probation.
At first, Circuit Judge John Putman was hesitant to accept the plea saying the punishment “seems a little light.”
Langston’s attorney, Ben Burnett of Mountain Home, pointed out that all of the property involved in the case had been returned to its rightful owners and restitution for the damage caused when Langston rammed a gate on the property of Norfork Police Chief Dempsey Thompson had been paid in full.
The DWI 2nd offense filed against Langston was also corrected to reflect that it was his first DWI offense which is a less serious charge.
UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR
Baxter County sheriff’s deputies were called to Langston’s residence along Jordan Road about 3:30 a.m. December 13 last year after he reported multiple armed people were hiding in various parts of the house making threats.
The deputies found no one.
Less than two hours later, Langston made another call but deputies determined the details of that communication were also unfounded.
About 7 a.m. on the same day, a motorist driving along Jordan Road said he saw Langston squatting down in a ditch dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. The man went to Langston to see if he could assist and Langston told him someone had been shooting at him and his wife.
He told the Good Samaritan his wife was hurt and lying nearby. When the victim walked away to check on the wife, Langston jumped into the man’s truck and drove off.
About ten minutes after the vehicle theft, Langston is alleged to have driven to the residence of Norfork Police Chief Dempsey Thompson and rammed a gate at the entrance to the property equipped with a power opener.
Chief Thompson put Langston in his patrol car and waited on deputies to arrive.
On his way to jail, Langston is alleged to have started to duck down in the back of a vehicle being driven by a deputy claiming people were in the woods shooting at him and that the same people had tied him up with razor wire at one point.
After he arrived at the jail, Langston told a deputy he had been awake for a few days and that he had tried to overdose on methamphetamine.
MONEY PAID AND NO WORK DONE
The first charge against Langford was based on allegations made by a victim on November 9 last year that they had hired him to replace windows and siding at their residence along Deerwood Drive in Clarkridge but the work was never completed. The state dismissed the case recently after victim restitution was paid in full, according to court records.
Residents of the home along Deerwood Drive filed a theft report with the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office alleging they had contracted with Langston, doing business as Construction Worx, LLC, to replace windows and siding at the residence.
The contract was for $19,500, with materials costing $10,379 and labor at $9,121. The victims said Langston requested that they pay the $10,379 for material upfront so they could be ordered. The victims reported they paid the amount with a check that cleared their bank on May 9.
The victims said approximately a month later they contacted Langston to ask when the supplies would arrive. He was alleged to have said they were hard to get because a tornado in the area had done significant damage requiring more than the normal supply of building materials.
The victims told investigators they would text Langston once or twice a month to check on the status of the job. After some time, Langston is reported to have told the victims that he had a person who could do the “tear off” but the workman would have to be paid separately
The victims said they agreed to hire the man at a cost of $1,800 in order to at least get some work going on the project.
Contacts continued between the victims and Langston but they reported only getting excuses as to when the job would be finished.
Langston is reported to have told the victims the name of the company from which the supplies had been ordered. When the victims contacted the company directly, they were told no such order had been placed.
On October 18, the victims went to Langston’s home to discuss the situation and attempt to get their money back. Langston is alleged to have written two checks on his company account – one for $5,000 and one for $5,379.
Langston asked that the victims wait three weeks before cashing the first check and three more weeks before presenting the second check for payment.
The victim agreed. After three weeks past, the victims deposited the first check. It was returned for insufficient funds.
A sheriff’s office investigator contacted Langston about the situation and reported Langston admitted he had taken money from the victims for material purchases, but within days, his account was garnished by a company attempting to collect a delinquent student loan.
Court documents do show a suit filed against Langston to recover a delinquent $15,000 student loan.
The investigator obtained a warrant and checked with Langston’s bank. He reported the victim’s check was deposited on May 8, but did not show that any money was withdrawn based on a garnishment.
According to information filed in one of the cases, investigator checked and found that no contractor’s license had been issued for Joseph Langston, Jr., or Construction Worx.
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