Saturday, July 17, 2010

Ex-Realtor Association President Charged With Ripping Off Patio Bricks, Landscaping Blocks From Home In Foreclosure & Listed For Sale By Another Agent

In Joplin, Missouri, The Joplin Globe reports:
  • A Joplin real estate agent is to appear for a court hearing later this month on a felony charge in the theft of patio bricks and landscaping blocks from a property that was in foreclosure and being listed by another agent. Cheryl A. Chandler-Arwood, 45, and Jeffrey L. Wilson, 50, were arrested by a Jasper County sheriff's deputy who authorities said was responding to a report late last month of suspicious activity late at night outside 2935 N. Oak Valley Lane between Joplin and Carl Junction.

  • The deputy encountered a pickup truck in the driveway of the address. The truck's license plates had been removed, and the deputy discovered a pair of leather gloves that had fallen from the passenger-side door of the truck and a flashlight on the passenger-side floorboard, according to a probable-cause affidavit. A "Carthage Tigers" decal on one of the truck's window had been covered with a piece of paper, the affidavit states. In the bed of the truck, the deputy saw about 100 landscaping bricks, the document states.

  • The deputy detained Chandler-Arwood and Wilson, and questioned them about their presence on the property. The affidavit states that Chandler-Arwood told him she had permission from the listing real estate agent to take the bricks from the residence. But when the listing agent was contacted by the deputy, he told the officer no one had permission to remove anything from the property.

***

  • Chandler-Arwood, who was president of the Joplin Board of Realtors in 2009, was arrested along with Wilson. [...] The Ozark Gateway Association of Realtors issued a statement after being contacted by the Globe concerning the matter. The statement said the association's board of directors met after learning that a member had been charged with theft, and took action to deny the member continued access to electronic lockboxes that real estate agents use to access keys for showing properties to interested buyers.

For the story, see Joplin real estate agent charged with felony theft. (if link expires, try here).