Cassville Attorney Organizing Efforts To Help Defrauded Church
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May 10, 2018
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*Note: This article originally appeared in the Barry County Advertiser, our sister publication. The defrauded church is located in Stone County.*
Charlea Estes-Jones
A Cassville attorney is working to get the community together to help a Stone County church who say they were defrauded by a contractor. Carr Lane Baptist Church hired the contractor to make multiple repairs, including new siding, a handicapped ramp and a handicapped parking area, but they say he never delivered on that contract and their church was left in a state of disrepair and various stages of construction.
Karen Pounds, treasurer of Carr Lane Baptist, said the church paid a contractor out of Buffalo around $10,000 to complete the work, but over time, he stopped returning their phone calls. As time went on, he asked for more, but wasn’t completing the work.
Eventually, Pounds said the church told him they would be seeking legal advice. She said, “We told him we might seek legal advice. And he said he would take out a lien against the church because we owed him money. After that, we just stopped trying to talk to him, because he kept getting upset with us.”
Pounds laid out the timeline of their interaction with the contractor they say took advantage of them, J.D. (Jonathan) Crowl, of KyCrete & Construction in Buffalo.
She said, “He put in a bid for doing all the siding and putting in a handicapped ramp and handicapped parking area. We all went over the bids. Jonathan said the bid was $13,500. He said to pay $6,000 up front to get all the materials he needed. And for that, he would pull the siding off and put it all back in. He said he wouldn’t ask for any more money until he had it all done: the ramp, the siding and all that.”
However, Pounds said that isn’t how it went. The project was to be billed in three different tiers of the project, and she said Crowl kept coming to them for more money.
She said, “He said he needed more money. He’d told us he’d made a deal with [a cement company], and if we went ahead and paid up front for phase two, he would have them do all of the cement at a discount. He had no siding done and no ramp done. The next installment was $3,750, and he said he would get all the cement in all in one day and it would be cheaper.”
Pounds said they gave him the next $3,750, but it wasn’t long before he was asking for more.
She said, “He said he needed another $1,700 to do the ramp again and the pad out front. We told him we’d already given him the $3,750 for the cement. He said the cement truck was coming but he didn’t have the money to pay for it.
“We told him we’ll pay the cement truck, but we weren’t giving the money for him.”
Pounds said the cement never came. Eventually, she said she called the company he claimed to have a contract with for the cement, but they claimed Crowl had cancelled the delivery. Pounds said as time went on, his story unravelled more and more.
From asking for them to pay his employees when he wasn’t there to demanding more money and not showing up when he said he would, Pounds said it was one thing after another.
Eventually, the gave up and contacted an attorney.
When Crowl was called for a comment regarding the allegations against him, the phone number on his business card was not connected.
Members of the Carr Lane Baptist Church then approached Cassville attorney Blake Fields, owner of the Law Office of Blake B. Fields LLC, hoping Fields would be able to file a civil case against Crowl.
However, Fields said he wasn’t willing to file a case, even though a civil case would be the appropriate path. “Most of the time, a breech of contract is a civil suit, not a criminal one. However, when they described to me his resources, it was clear I was suing someone who couldn’t pay a judgment. My concern was that the church would end up with an I.O.U. and no one to pay it.”
After researching Crowl, Fields said court records indicated that he was in jail when he tried to contact him. Crowl was arrested on unrelated charges and was released on May 4, according to court records.
It was at that point that Fields decided to take action to help the church members through community support instead of the legal system.
He shared, “I decided to help them in another way. I talked to my church about getting volunteers and contacted local papers to see if we can get more people to be aware of what happened and come forward to help out. I’ve also started collecting money for them. So far, I have $520 in donations.”
Pounds said they were appreciative that Fields was willing to help, even if it wasn’t legally. She said, “We think it’s wonderful. It’s just a blessing. It’s amazing to have people come together to help out like that.”
Fields said, “Their concern is two-fold. It is missing all the siding and there are holes punched in the insulation. It’s a mess. They did sub-par work on what they did do and never finished it. They have a church just sitting there, exposed and they need help.”
Pounds said they estimate it would take a single person two solid weeks to do all the work that remains after their contractor stopped work.
What was done, Pounds said was not done properly. “The majority of the time, Jonathan wouldn’t show up and he would make excuses. The times he did put any siding on, he put it on wrong and wouldn’t connect it to anything, which would void our warranty.”
Slowly, church members have been working to fix what was left in shambles. However with such a small church, they don’t have many people to do the work. Pounds said, “We’re trying to get the siding put up and the parking area fixed for the handicapped. Right now, it’s not very good. We have a 91 year old woman who pushes her son in a wheelchair across the lot and up the ramp. It’s hard on her. She’s an amazing woman.
“We have another with a walker who can’t hardly get around. We really needed the parking lot fixed for them.
“We’ve got some of the siding put up. Three of us have been working together to get it done.”
Fields is hoping that with the community aware of what happened to the church, more people will step in and help. He said, “The reality is, I don’t like seeing people get taken advantage of. I particularly don’t like it because it’s a church. The idea of someone taking advantage of a church, especially one who was trying to help out the handicapped members of their congregation. I thought certainly I could do something to help them.
“I always try to help out anyone who comes into my office, most of that time is on the law side. But sometimes, it’s a better fit to come together as a community.”
Fields said he is organizing help for the church. To volunteer time or make a donation, contact his office at (417) 847-999.
Fields added, “Skilled, unskilled, it doesn’t matter. We need people who are capable of swinging a hammer and have a desire to help.”
Fields has a work day set up next week on Tuesday, May 15, running from noon until around 5 p.m. where he and his office staff are going to Carr Lane Baptist Church to help work. Anyone willing to help is welcome to show up to help.
Carr Lane Baptist Church is located ten miles south of Shell Knob, one quarter mile west of the Carr Lane Junction of Highways 39/86.
A Cassville attorney is working to get the community together to help a Stone County church who say they were defrauded by a contractor. Carr Lane Baptist Church hired the contractor to make multiple repairs, including new siding, a handicapped ramp and a handicapped parking area, but they say he never delivered on that contract and their church was left in a state of disrepair and various stages of construction.
Karen Pounds, treasurer of Carr Lane Baptist, said the church paid a contractor out of Buffalo around $10,000 to complete the work, but over time, he stopped returning their phone calls. As time went on, he asked for more, but wasn’t completing the work.
Eventually, Pounds said the church told him they would be seeking legal advice. She said, “We told him we might seek legal advice. And he said he would take out a lien against the church because we owed him money. After that, we just stopped trying to talk to him, because he kept getting upset with us.”
Pounds laid out the timeline of their interaction with the contractor they say took advantage of them, J.D. (Jonathan) Crowl, of KyCrete & Construction in Buffalo.
She said, “He put in a bid for doing all the siding and putting in a handicapped ramp and handicapped parking area. We all went over the bids. Jonathan said the bid was $13,500. He said to pay $6,000 up front to get all the materials he needed. And for that, he would pull the siding off and put it all back in. He said he wouldn’t ask for any more money until he had it all done: the ramp, the siding and all that.”
However, Pounds said that isn’t how it went. The project was to be billed in three different tiers of the project, and she said Crowl kept coming to them for more money.
She said, “He said he needed more money. He’d told us he’d made a deal with [a cement company], and if we went ahead and paid up front for phase two, he would have them do all of the cement at a discount. He had no siding done and no ramp done. The next installment was $3,750, and he said he would get all the cement in all in one day and it would be cheaper.”
Pounds said they gave him the next $3,750, but it wasn’t long before he was asking for more.
She said, “He said he needed another $1,700 to do the ramp again and the pad out front. We told him we’d already given him the $3,750 for the cement. He said the cement truck was coming but he didn’t have the money to pay for it.
“We told him we’ll pay the cement truck, but we weren’t giving the money for him.”
Pounds said the cement never came. Eventually, she said she called the company he claimed to have a contract with for the cement, but they claimed Crowl had cancelled the delivery. Pounds said as time went on, his story unravelled more and more.
From asking for them to pay his employees when he wasn’t there to demanding more money and not showing up when he said he would, Pounds said it was one thing after another.
Eventually, the gave up and contacted an attorney.
When Crowl was called for a comment regarding the allegations against him, the phone number on his business card was not connected.
Members of the Carr Lane Baptist Church then approached Cassville attorney Blake Fields, owner of the Law Office of Blake B. Fields LLC, hoping Fields would be able to file a civil case against Crowl.
However, Fields said he wasn’t willing to file a case, even though a civil case would be the appropriate path. “Most of the time, a breech of contract is a civil suit, not a criminal one. However, when they described to me his resources, it was clear I was suing someone who couldn’t pay a judgment. My concern was that the church would end up with an I.O.U. and no one to pay it.”
After researching Crowl, Fields said court records indicated that he was in jail when he tried to contact him. Crowl was arrested on unrelated charges and was released on May 4, according to court records.
It was at that point that Fields decided to take action to help the church members through community support instead of the legal system.
He shared, “I decided to help them in another way. I talked to my church about getting volunteers and contacted local papers to see if we can get more people to be aware of what happened and come forward to help out. I’ve also started collecting money for them. So far, I have $520 in donations.”
Pounds said they were appreciative that Fields was willing to help, even if it wasn’t legally. She said, “We think it’s wonderful. It’s just a blessing. It’s amazing to have people come together to help out like that.”
Fields said, “Their concern is two-fold. It is missing all the siding and there are holes punched in the insulation. It’s a mess. They did sub-par work on what they did do and never finished it. They have a church just sitting there, exposed and they need help.”
Pounds said they estimate it would take a single person two solid weeks to do all the work that remains after their contractor stopped work.
What was done, Pounds said was not done properly. “The majority of the time, Jonathan wouldn’t show up and he would make excuses. The times he did put any siding on, he put it on wrong and wouldn’t connect it to anything, which would void our warranty.”
Slowly, church members have been working to fix what was left in shambles. However with such a small church, they don’t have many people to do the work. Pounds said, “We’re trying to get the siding put up and the parking area fixed for the handicapped. Right now, it’s not very good. We have a 91 year old woman who pushes her son in a wheelchair across the lot and up the ramp. It’s hard on her. She’s an amazing woman.
“We have another with a walker who can’t hardly get around. We really needed the parking lot fixed for them.
“We’ve got some of the siding put up. Three of us have been working together to get it done.”
Fields is hoping that with the community aware of what happened to the church, more people will step in and help. He said, “The reality is, I don’t like seeing people get taken advantage of. I particularly don’t like it because it’s a church. The idea of someone taking advantage of a church, especially one who was trying to help out the handicapped members of their congregation. I thought certainly I could do something to help them.
“I always try to help out anyone who comes into my office, most of that time is on the law side. But sometimes, it’s a better fit to come together as a community.”
Fields said he is organizing help for the church. To volunteer time or make a donation, contact his office at (417) 847-999.
Fields added, “Skilled, unskilled, it doesn’t matter. We need people who are capable of swinging a hammer and have a desire to help.”
Fields has a work day set up next week on Tuesday, May 15, running from noon until around 5 p.m. where he and his office staff are going to Carr Lane Baptist Church to help work. Anyone willing to help is welcome to show up to help.
Carr Lane Baptist Church is located ten miles south of Shell Knob, one quarter mile west of the Carr Lane Junction of Highways 39/86.