ELGIN, Okla_An Elgin woman is out over $2,000
after she said a contract worker botched a job on her property and never
returned. The victim said she hired Randall Tomberlin in August after a local
company recommended him. She said after three days of shoddy work and causing
extensive damage to her property, Tomberlin disappeared. When she finally
caught up with him, things took a turn for the worse.
The victim
found out that Tomberlin was a convicted felon who had just been released from
prison in February. She went back to the company that referred him but he was
not an employee, so there was nothing they could do. She said Tomberlin was
difficult to get a hold of and when she did talk with him it got extremely
ugly.
Badly-spaced
landscaping beams, shaky posts and a severed cable line are what are left of
what was supposed to be a fence. The victim said Tomberlin seemed trustworthy
when she met him, so she felt secure giving him her money.
"I gave him a partial amount of what I owed him. He came back with a
little bit of lumber. I still wasn't suspicious because I thought he knew what
he is doing"
After three
days of work and over $900 into the project, Tomberlin put posts into the
backyard. But they are extremely shaky and are not even straight. The victim
said Tomberlin was supposed to show up in a few days to finish the project,
when he didn't show up she gave him a call.
"A couple
of hours later, he calls me back, yelling and cussing at me, calling me bad
names. He was telling me he's not going to finish my fence at all."
She said he got
even angrier when he found out she went back to the company that referred him.
That's when she decided to file a police report and Elgin police Chief Karl Bremenkamp went to
talk to Tomberlin.
"He didn't
seem overly concerned. Not at all, he said well, ‘sue me, sue me, I ain't got
nothing.'"
He said right
now, her case lies in both the civil and criminal sector.
"It deals
with a civil issue but at the same token, yes, she felt threatened. Because of
the manner I am sure that he spoke to her and his past record."
The victim said
her trouble with Tomberlin has left her jaded when it comes to hiring workers
for projects around her house.
"The next
time, I will get a licensed, bonded and insured company. I will not hire a small-town
contractor anymore."
We tried
calling Tomberlin but were not able to get in touch with him. Chief Bremenkamp
said that his department may decide to file charges based on how Tomberlin
rectifies the situation and whether or not he threatens the victim.
The Elgin Police
Department said before deciding on any contractor, you should always get
several references. They say you should also check the company's status with Chamber
of Commerce or the Better Business Bureau.
