Sheriff’s deputies are seeking a scam artist who offers to
slurry-seal broken driveways, pockets thousands of dollars, then
bails before the work is done.
Gilroy – Sheriff’s deputies are seeking a scam artist who offers to slurry-seal broken driveways, pockets thousands of dollars, then bails before the work is done.
Ted Stevens, 51, has been caught conning homeowners before, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Fred Alanis, who started investigating the case in May. Since 1991, Stevens has been charged several times with contracting without a license, bilking residents in Shasta County, San Jose, Gilroy and Hollister.
In May, an elderly Gilroy couple gave Stevens $1,900 of a $2,400 contract to re-seal their Roop Road driveway, Alanis said. Stevens did three-quarters of the job – and did it sloppily, Alanis added – before abandoning the work.
Monday, Alanis secured a $20,000 warrant for Stevens’ arrest on charges of contracting without a license and felony financial crimes against an elder.
“We’d like to get this guy,” said Alanis, “before he victimizes anyone else.”
Stevens drives a red 1999 Chevrolet pickup with ‘Stevens Blacktop’ emblazoned on the side, said Alanis. He frequently stays in trailer parks, hopping from Redding to Turlock to West Sacramento.
Alanis urged other scam victims to contact him at 686-3660.
