Former Jackson furniture store employee gets 15 years on stealing charges

A Bertrand, Mo., man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Tuesday by Circuit Court Judge William Syler for stealing by deceit from Ashley Furniture Store customers in Jackson. Aaron A. Evans, 49, was an employee of the business and took money from customers by promising furniture delivery, never delivering the items and keeping the money for himself. He stole from three customers, according to Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle, and was sentenced for five years for each felony theft offense. Ashley Furniture Store has made restitution to the victims in the new case, even though the store was not legally obligated to do so.

After sentencing, it was noted that Evans began committing the stealing offenses one month after being placed on probation for felony theft in a case where he stole money from customers while working as a salesman at Auffenberg Chrysler. Circuit Court Judge Fred Copeland sentenced Evans to three years in prison April 14 in that case, but the sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation.

"He is one of the more spectacularly unsuccessful probationers of the past decade," Swingle said. "Now it will be up to Judge Copeland to decide whether the three-year sentence for the probation violation should run consecutively to this 15-year sentence."

Swingle added that this case serves as an example to employers to screen their new hires more carefully.

"I'm sure Ashley Furniture Store would not have hired Aaron Evans had they checked Missouri Case.net and found out he had just been convicted of felony stealing by deceit," said Swingle.