Lumberton New Jersey Police arrested 2 men and a teenager Thursday after a tip from a roofing contractor. The contractor was suspicious when he drove past the victim’s house and saw the 3 suspects working on the roof he had fixed last year.
The 3 suspects were taken into custody shortly after causing $3,000 worth of damage to a disabled veteran’s roof. Paul Frank, Larry Mitchell and an unidentified teenager were charged with burglary, theft by deception, criminal mischief and conspiracy, performing electrical work without a business permit and failure to register as contractors.
The suspects allegedly went to the victim’s home and told him his roof was leaking, since he is disabled and in a wheelchair he was unable to verify the damage and he gave the men $5,500 to make the roof repairs.
Malicious Swindlers
As if taking the man’s money wasn’t enough, the suspects tore two large holes in the victim’s roof with a crow bar exposing the attic. They forced open 2 electrical boxes and disconnected the wires. They also allegedly sprayed a black substance on the shingles, molding and gutters.
The two men were taken to Burlington County Jail and the teenager was taken to Burlington County Juvenile Detention Center. Mitchell was released on $20,000 bail and Frank’s bail was raised to $50,000 due to previous crimes he was charged with.
Lumberton officials are helping the victim to find legitimate contractors to fix the damage caused by the 3 suspects.
