Man charged with stealing from Jackson furniture store customers

If Jackson business owner Al Barton had known about Aaron A. Evans' previous employment, he never would have hired him, he said Tuesday.

Evans pleaded guilty April 14 to felony charges of theft by deceit, the result of scamming customers at Auffenberg Chrysler in Cape Girardeau.

He was placed on felony probation for the crime, then, two weeks later, applied for a job at Ashley Furniture of Jackson, where he allegedly began bilking customers in the same manner, police say.

"We believe in giving people second chances, but we wouldn't have hired him if we'd known that," said Barton, co-owner of Ashley Furniture.

Evans, 48, of Bertrand, Mo., was charged Tuesday with three counts of felony stealing and three counts of misdemeanor theft charges related to suspected activities at the furniture store.

Evans is accused of telling customers if they paid him personally and up front for a purchase, they would receive a better price, according to a probable-cause statement by Lt. Rodney Barnes of the Jackson police.

None of the promised furniture was delivered and the store never received any of the money, the statement said.

An employee of the store reported helping Evans load a $270 sofa onto an unknown vehicle June 18, and inventory showed it hadn't been sold.

Jackson police have identified at least five victims of the scheme; the incidents involve cash and checks in amounts ranging from $300 to $1,954.

Barton said that though he has no legal obligation toward victims of the thefts, the store would be willing to make restitution for their losses.

Evans turned himself in to Jackson police Tuesday and is being held on $25,000 cash-only bond.

According to the statement, Evans admitted to his probation officer that he'd stolen from store clients and that he was planning to win the money back at a casino so he could reimburse them.