CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A man says he paid a roofer nearly $1500.00 to put a new metal roof on a property he owns near Alice, last August.
The roof was never installed, and now the property owner wants his money back.
So he called the Troubleshooters for help.
Emede Canales says he's owned a piece of property outside Alice for a few years.
He wanted to put a new metal roof on it.
In August 2021, he hired Gilbert Garza with Jesse's Roofing in Alice, to do the job.
Put $1450.00 down.
"I selected him because he told me that it would take about 3-4 weeks for the materials to arrive. And about a week to do the job," Canales told the Troubleshooters.
Well, a new metal roof was installed on Canales' property, but not by Garza, by a different contractor, who Canales hired, and had to pay more than $3000.00 to get done.
Canales was not happy, so he says he started asking around Alice about Garza and Jesse's Roofing.
"I asked the commissioners. I asked the judge. I asked the sheriff. I asked the CID," Canales recalled.
"Nobody knows him. Never heard of him ? Nobody knows him...at all. Nobody. Nobody knows him."
On April 19th, Canales filed theft charges against Garza with the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Office.
On Friday, October 11th, while the Troubleshooters were visiting Canales, his phone rang.
It was Gilbert Garza.
He told Canales he'd injured himself and couldn't work.
"So what's the target date for re-imbursement of my money ?" Canales asked.
Garza says he'd check with his wife.
Five minutes or so after Canales hung up with Garza, his phone rag again.
It was Garza's wife, telling him..."you are one of my top priorities," but not giving him a specific date for payment.
On Friday the 14th, the Troubleshooters left a voicemail on Garza's phone.
He has not called back.
About an hour after our call to Garza, Canales called us.
The Garza's had contacted him..
He was getting paid on Saturday !
And he did.
In 3 money orders for the full $1450.00 he had put down.
That makes this another troubleshooters case Closed !
Late Monday afternoon, I spoke with Brooks County Judge Eric Ramos.
He told me the county paid Gilbert Garza of Jesse's Roofing more than $30,000.00, in February, to repair the roof at the Falfurrias Public Library.
He also told me, Garza never did any work.
So a theft charge has been filed with the Brooks County DA's office, and, Ramos says, he's asked the Texas Rangers to investigate Garza.
