What is up with this?
http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0209/593359.html
The man admits he wasn't paid by the contractor so he calls and tries to milk money from the officer and the town is not defending the officer?
This Evans guy admits he was threatening the officer with a mechanic's lein, even when the officer didn't owe him the money. What kind of justice is that?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Brookneal in the news again
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18 comments:
Looks like the Town is once again going to drop the ball where an employee is concerned. I wonder how much this one is going to cost us?
Dropping the ball in protecting the employee.
The guy admitted he threatened the officer with placing a mechanic's lein on his house. That's bribery.
Funny that this is the officer that writes a lot of tickets and was going to have the drug dog. Almost seems like a set up to prevent him from busting more of the drunk teenagers and drug pushers in this town.
Sounds like the town manager and council mightbe afraid of what that dog might find.
I can't believe they are making a fuss about a $25.00 ticket when they employee a three time convicted felon.
If he threated Evans using his position, then he was out of line and should be reprimanded.
Placing a mechanics lein for unpaid work is standard procedure.
The town has no business protecting someone that acts in an unprifessional manner. Sounds like he was just acting like a bully and trying to intimidate Evans.
Melrose,
You must have missed the part of the report where Evans admitted the officer didn't owe him the money. Evans was a subcontractor. It was the contractor that hadn't paid him. The officer had already paid the contractor.
Other details that have emerged is that Evans called the officer and threatened him several times. Placing a mechanics lein on someone that does not owe you money is extortion. It's also highly illegal. Had Evans actually done it, instead of just threatening too, he could be charged.
Of course the town will take this Evans fellow's side, He's a four time convicted felon, so he fits right in.
I stand by my original statement. A mechanics lien is placed on the property when a subcontractor is not paid by the contractor..to quote Wikipedia...
"Unlike other security interests, in most states, mechanic's liens are given to contractors and material suppliers who may or may not have a direct contractual agreement with the owner of the land. In fact, this is often the norm because in most cases, the owner of the land contracts only with a general contractor (often called a "prime contractor"). The general contractor, in turn, hires subcontractors ("subs") and material suppliers ("suppliers") to perform the work. These subs and suppliers are entitled to liens on the owner's property to secure their payment from the general contractor."
If the officer threatened Evans by "Bring your fing @ss to Brookneal", the he should be reprimanded. Why should the Town defend him? He abused his authority.
Anyone from around here knows Evans and what he does. He's bragging that he's going to get the officer's badge. What a scum.
This is nothing but another railroad job being sanctioned by the town council. I wish all the employees that work in Brookneal could just quit and walk off the job. They (except for two) get treated so poorly it's a wonder they stay.
Brookneal Blogger...you said on 2/12..."Almost seems like a set up to prevent him from busting more of the drunk teenagers and drug pushers in this town" Obviously you have not had experience with Mr. Earhart. He is very vulgar with any one he pulls over or even anyone that asks for a small favor. For example, police officers in Brookneal have been opening car doors for citizens since I can remember. He got extremely vulgar with a young lady about 4 months ago for asking him to do so. He is a time bomb waiting to happen and more than a few credible people in Brookneal have stated this themselves. I don't think anyone is afraid of him doing anything with this drug dog he is too busy giving elderly people tickets for having their car parked in front of a store for five minutes or for having an inspection sticker that ran out the previous day. All the while Brookneal Mini Mart is slam packed every night with people doing God knows what. I also don't recall him busting any drunk teenagers. I do recall him illegally searching a few all while using distasteful and vulgar mannerisms and they were found not guilty in court. I have lived here my entire life and would not want this man to represent my town any longer than he already has!
Police officers aren't supposed to be doorman. They are supposed to uphold the law, regardless of who is breaking it. So if someone is parking in a fire lane or driving around with an expired sticker then they deserve the ticket.
As for those poor teenagers, that were illegally drinking when the officer found them, I have no sympathy for them. They got off on a technicality, but they were guilty of underage drinking. What if one of the kids had driven after drinking and killed someone? Turning a blind eye to these things only makes this town look worse.
I've met the police officer and he was polite and friendly. He seems to know his job, and unfortunately for the crooks in this town, he's willing to do it.
I'm sure you wouldn't want an upright and law abiding person representing you, since having a convicted felon as a town manager and supervisor of a police department doesn't seem to bother you.
I do not have sympathy for anyone. It is called common courtesy and it is something that this southern town has grown away from over the past few years after being invaded. Obviously the man was nice to you when you met him, you were not doing something that required him to do his job. I have met him also and he does seem like a nice man, but that is beside the point. He obviously threatened the man and should be held accountable. It was done during the time he was working for the town. As for the "Acting as a Town Manager" I don't think he is doing his job or should have ever been in the position in the first place. It would be nice to know that if I started to work on the trash truck in a matter of years I would be the town manager. You put words in my mouth the only thing that I was discussing was the police officer. No one asked for your sympathy as it is not needed. Sympathy is for an 80 year old man who dropped his wife off at the store and got a ticket. I would love to have an upright law abiding RESPECTFUL citizen representing me as I feel I do so being in the public service field. I don't think you would want someone to degrade or disrespect you when you have not done anything to warrant it.
First of all, how can it be bribery if this is the only legal recourse afforded a sub-contractor? He did not threaten the officer, he simply called the officer to get the lien agent information that was not posted on the building permit (information that is supposed to be posted, by law). Second, the officer had NOT paid the contractor in full. He was holding $18,000 of Nelson Homes' money. All Evans was trying to do was find out the lien agent information in order to cause the contractor to pay for the work completed on this site before the contractor received payment in full from the property owner.
Brookneal Blogger - you should have all of your facts together before you start slamming on Evans. Mr. Evans is not a teenager nor is he a drug pusher. Evans never threatened the officer, there were only two calls and in the first phone call the officer requested that Mr. Evans call him back if there was any change in the status of the lien. Mr. Evans called a 2nd time to let the officer know that there was a change, that they were sending someone to file a lien, thus constituting a change in the status. Mr. Evans was keeping his word to advise the officer of changes. This officer chose to threaten Mr. Evans, this officer chose to lie in court, this officer has apparently chosen to walk just on the other side of legal in many situations. This officer deserved to be reprimanded and still does. Being an officer of the law, he and all others should hold him to a higher standard, everybody should expect him to uphold the law. You must abide by the laws in order to effectively uphold the laws.
Mr Evans is a four time convicted felon, it was mentioned in court and neither Mr. Evans, nor his lawyer refuted it.
I'm not going to take the bizarre story from some four time loser's mouth over an officer of the law.
According to the transcript the stories of Mr. Evans and his witness didn't even match. They were in different cars, on different roads, at different times. Sounds like he and his witness didn't get their stories straight.
A $25.00 misdemeanor isn't a "threat" it's a public statement that the offense was less of a problem then parking in a handicap zone without a placard.
Seriously people, get real. The local felon didn't do his job, wasn't paid by the contractor because he didn't do what he was supposed to do, and then threatens the homeowner. If someone threatened to put a lein on my house, that hadn't finished the work to my satisfaction I'd do a lot more then curse at them.
I'm not going to comment on the court case.
But I will comment on the issue of subcontractors/contractors. My husband is a project manager/electrical engineer for the third largest industrial construction company in America.
A subcontractor CANNOT file a lien until their portion of a job is COMPLETELY finished and a contractor does not have receive a final payment until their portion is finished.
If a subcontractor does NOT do a satisfactory job and the contractor requires that they fix the issue they CANNOT file a lien until the problems are fixed and an inspector signs off on their work. All work done MUST meet specifications or you cannot file a lien. To file a lien without a finished, and inspected, job is paramount to theft and a contractor can lose their license or be fined for doing so.
Tracy M
What? No response to the complaintant being a 4 time convicted felon throwing down on a police officer? Have we become so used to the criminal sections of our society dictating what we do that it no longer matters?
What does his past have to do with anything? His actions were perfectly legal. We should be angry that a town official abused his authority and tried to intimidate a citizen with his power.
Melrose wrote:
>What does his past have to do with anything? His actions were perfectly legal. We should be angry that a town official abused his authority and tried to intimidate a citizen with his power.
I think his past has to do with everything. He chose to break the law, not once, but several times. It is therefore not inconceivable that he lied when making accusations against the officer. He has shown himself to be a person with disregard for the laws of society, so his reputation therefore colors all of his actions. No one put him in that position, he did it himself.
The issue is also up on appeal, so the officer cannot be deemed guilty until the appeal is over. Right now the case is in a holding pattern.
I have to agree with the blogger, I'm hesitant to take the word of a four time convicted felon, especially one that admitted in court he made threatening calls, over an officer of the law.
Police officers as a rule are disliked by anyone that has gotten a ticket or been charged with something. People all shriek "I'm innocent" even if caught red handed. This usually leads to claims of police abuse or harrassment, even when evidence shows otherwise. It's not a job that engenders popularity within the community. Since none of us were present when the situation took place we cannot state what happened, nor provide proof.
On the flip side I have been contacted by several business owners that have specifically addressed the situation with the officer and requested that he be put back on duty. I have no control over it one way or the other, but I do have an obligation to hear their request.
Tracy M
I'll agree that Evans' past leaves his statements questionable.
My sole point is that if the officer threatened him with "come through Brookneal and see what happens to your ass", the he abused his authority and should be reprimanded.
None of us were there, so I guess we'll never know. Police officers hold tremendous power and should be above reproach with their actions.
Melrose,
>My sole point is that if the officer threatened him with "come through Brookneal and see what happens to your ass", the he abused his authority and should be reprimanded.
I agree with you IF that is what happened BUT we have no proof that he said it, beyond the word of a four time convicted felon. Which to me makes it suspect.
I can relate to people putting words in someone's mouth, especially due to recent events. I've been accused of saying things, at times and places when I wasn't even in town, and hadn't spoken to anyone beyond the people watching my farm. It's always fun to come home from a trip and hear what I've been doing while I was away. {grin}
Tracy M
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