A local house painter has been charged with two misdemeanors–theft by deception and receiving stolen property–for allegedly taking payment for work that wasn’t completed and then failing to return the money when Hellertown Police offered him an opportunity to do so.
According to court documents, in March 2022, 40-year-old Timothy R. Carnes of Palmer Township was paid a $925 deposit for painting the exterior of a home in Hellertown borough.
An affidavit of probable cause filed by Hellertown Police in Northampton County District Court 03-2-04 states that Carnes subsequently cashed the check for that amount in May.
The homeowner eventually filed a police report in late January, according to the affidavit, and positively identified a photo of Carnes she was shown at the time.
Police said Carnes admitted to accepting the deposit in a subsequent interview.
“Carnes stated that he did some preparatory work such as pressure washing the house and the sidewalk,” the affidavit said, “however did not want to paint until (the homeowner) had an old bee’s nest removed from an eave.”
Police said Carnes “provided several other excuses as to why the work was not performed for the remainder of the summer, such as avoidance of (the homeowner) after becoming romantically involved with one of (her) employees…”
According to the affidavit, police then gave Carnes one week to return the deposit minus $100 for the prep work he had performed; an updated amount that both he and the homeowner accepted.
However, as of Feb. 21, police said Carnes had failed to return the $825 to the homeowner.
Per the criminal complaint, a warrant was then issued for Carnes’ arrest.
According to the criminal docket filed in Carnes’ case in district court, he was scheduled to be arraigned on the two Misdemeanor 1 charges before Judge Alan Mege on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
Carnes was released on $1,000 unsecured bail following his preliminary arraignment and is next scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Monday, March 20, court records show.
The docket did not list an attorney for Carnes.
Note: All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This story was compiled using information from the Hellertown Police Department and Northampton County court records.
