Tractor Sale gone sour, Final Chapter

[Tractors4u]

It has been a long 13 months but the saga is coming to a close. We went to trial yesterday. Gary Houston was charged with Theft By Deception, a Class B felony. In the Limestone County Circuit Court he was found GUILTY! A sentencing and restitution hear will follow at a later date. For those of you unfamiliar with this story see the "Tractor Sale Gone Sour" thread. He could possible do jail time or pay a fine, pay court costs, and pay me what he owes me. It would have been cheaper to have paid me the $1400.

 

[jmc]

Glad he didn't get away with it. What happened to your tractor and was he doing this to others?

 

[Tractors4u]

The tractor is still at his residence in North Carolina. I just received and e-mail from the D.A.'s office. The sentencing hearing will be August 25th and restitution will be ordered at the same time.

 

[Mrwurm]

Sorry about the trouble you've had, but I gotta love how it ended /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I'm glad you did'nt let him get away with it.

 

[Gatorboy]

To help those to find your other Thread easier, here it is:

Tractor Sale Gone Sour

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good for you, you stuck to your guns and kept poking your finger into the ribs of the system. Got your revenge. Now we hope you get your $$$ back too.

 

[RockyMnt1]

Good for you!! You did the right thing.

Unfortunately, you are only half way to where you want to be. Getting a judgement against someone is one battle. Collecting is the money owed is yet another.

He might declare bankruptcy which could delay or nullify your judgement. He could just not pay, which means that you have to go to the trouble of hauling him to court again for contempt or garnishing his wages if he is working and you can find out where.

There is still a long road to getting your money and/or tractor back, but you had to get over this first hurdle to get to the next.

There are times when the "old West" system of justice sure does seem appealing and much less frustrating. It just seems that the criminals count on the slow wheels of justice to delay punishment.

 

[Tractors4u]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( He could just not pay, which means that you have to go to the trouble of hauling him to court again for contempt or garnishing his wages if he is working and you can find out where. )</font>

I told someone this morning that if he leaved under an overpass in a cardboard box he might be a little harder to deal with. He owns his own home in High Point NC, works at a Ford dealership in Winston Salem, has a truck and a boat. He has the means to pay. The DA e-mailed me this morning saying the the sentencing and restitution hearing will be August 25th. Someone here at work said that if he has to pay restitution that he will pay the court and they will give me the money. Now it looks as if he wants to jerk anybody around he has to do it to Limestone County and they will pursue him. I'm patient, I can wait. I have been waiting over a year now.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Yikes!! I just now saw all this. Hope it turns out ok, Pepper!

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Thanks for keeping us posted. I've been kind of following this.

Steve