Contractor admitted taking money from elderly man for Baton Rouge job, spending it elsewhere, EBRSO says – The Advocate

A Mississippi-based contractor was arrested Friday after telling a deputy he accepted money from a man in Baton Rouge, but spent it elsewhere without completing the work.

Justin Walter Etheridge, 42 of McComb, Mississippi, was accused of accepting $2,800 for window replacement and kitchen cabinet work at a man's home. The victim said not only had the work not been done, but while attempting to rebuild kitchen cabinets, Etheridge had removed the cabinet doors and never returned them.

The man said when he confronted Etheridge about the incomplete work, the contractor told him he had spent the money on things unrelated to the job. An East Baton Rouge Sheriff's deputy questioned Etheridge about the work, and he admitted to spending the money elsewhere, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Etheridge was scheduled for a meeting April 24at the Sheriff's Office headquarters to go over documentation on where the money was spent, but he did not show up, deputies said.

Etheridge was arrested and booked on counts of misapplication of payments and theft of assets from an aged person. His bail was set at $15,000.

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Contractor admitted taking money from elderly man for Baton Rouge job, spending it elsewhere, EBRSO says - The Advocate