Bertrand man accused of swindling waives preliminary hearing

A Bertrand man accused of swindling customers at an area business for the second time in two years waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday afternoon.

Cape Girardeau County Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp upheld the charges of three counts of felony stealing and three misdemeanor counts of theft against Aaron A. Evans, 48, and set the case for arraignment on Aug. 3 before Cape Girardeau County Circuit Judge William L. Syler.

Evans was convicted on April 14 of felony charges for theft by deceit after a scheme to swindle customers at Auffenburg Chrysler in Cape Girardeau unraveled.

He was placed on probation, and while still on probation, was hired as an employee of Ashley Furniture in Jackson two weeks after the guilty plea.

Al Barton, co-owner of Ashley Furniture, has said he'd had no idea of Evans' history, and would not have hired him if he had.

In the most recent case, Evans is accused of telling Ashley customers they would get a significant discount on a purchase they were making if they gave him the money upfront, then never delivering their furniture.

The store never received the money, according to a probable-cause statement.

At least five victims were identified through the police investigation, Barnes wrote, reporting the loss of dollar amounts ranging from $300 to $1,954.

Barton said that though there was no legal obligation for the store to make restitution to customers because of Evans' alleged stealing, he wished to do so anyway.

Kirk Barton, Al Barton's partner in the store, said that to the best of his knowledge every customer who came forward had been reimbursed for their loss.

Evans is being held at the Cape Girardeau County Jail on $25,000 cash-only bond.

Small claims lawsuits have been filed against Evans by a handful of Cape Girardeau businesses dating back to 2004, including Saint Francis Medical Center, Mopay LLC, Check, Please, TNT Cash Advance and Instacash Inc.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent addresses

4700 E. Jackson Blvd.

216 N. Missouri St.

1 Barton Square