East Texas house stolen brick by brick
Associated Press
LINDALE — When Smith County Constable Dennis Taylor got a call reporting a stolen house, his first question was, “Is it a trailer house, ma’am?”
“No, it’s a brick house,” the real estate company representative replied.
Board by board, shingle by shingle, for nearly three months, thieves dismantled a three-bedroom brick house in this East Texas town and carted it away until only a pile of rubble was left.
Authorities allege Brandon Ray Parmer, 29, and Darrell Patrick Maxfield, 44, both of Tyler, took the house apart and sold it for drugs, in plain view of everyone cruising by on U.S. Highway 69, Lindale’s main street. Both men were arrested this week.
Taylor said the men worked slowly and haphazardly in daylight, with no one questioning their work, because everyone assumed it was the work of Wal-Mart or Lowe’s, the two large retail stores laying new foundations nearby.
“It’s the strangest case I’ve ever worked in my life,” Taylor said. “Everybody drove by and waved at them.”
But the home actually belonged to Dallas-based St. Ives Realty.
Authorities also arrested Jesse Gino Vega after executing a search warrant at his Lindale home Tuesday. Vega, 36, is accused of giving cash and methamphetamine to the other two men in exchange for the materials from the home.
All three suspects were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, a second-degree felony, and released from Smith County Jail after posting $10,000 bond.
Authorities recovered lumber worth about $25,000 from Vegas’ house. They also found plumbing, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, fence materials, doors and windows.
Officers got “about five trailer loads of property that came out of that house,” Taylor said, then paused. “Well, it didn’t come out of the house. It was the house.”
The investigation is continuing, and at least three other people may have been involved in the crime, Taylor said.
“Affairs on the border cannot be judged by standards that hold elsewhere.”
Replies
Back in the 70s there was a sudden jump in aluminum prices. People would bribe people working at a newspaper delivery desk for a list of addresses that were cut off while they went on vacation. Come the AM a crew would show up and using ladders and pry bars they would strip the aluminum siding and take it to a recycling center. Folks would come home from vacation to a house needing siding.
During the same time period at least one crew was caught driving down major highway with gasoline powered chop saws taking down hand rails, highway signage and anything else made of aluminum.
When copper was high we had a house we had just wired stripped of wiring. One house was stripped twice. The GC hired a local delinquent to sleep on site at night and clean up. The thefts and vandalism stopped. The site was cleaner.
Local man owns a large home. He converted it to a rooming house. Made good money. Had a string of good long-term tenant. On recommendation he rented it out to a crew he didn't know. Come to find out they were crack addicts. They ripped out everything they could and sold it for crack. Doors and a couple of windows were removed. Plumbing fixtures, including three toilets, were ripped out and sold. Copper piping and some of the wiring was torn out. The water heater and air handler had been torn out and left in the living room. Evidently they were waiting for a buyer.
Guess crack heads do make good workers?
"Affairs on the border cannot be judged by standards that hold elsewhere."
"Guess crack heads do make good workers?"
I've said this before ... I got a buddy that got a real nice brand new garage roof sheathed and shingled ... for $150!
of course .. that's just the labor ... but still.
2 different guys ... 3 days. $50/day. First guy showed 2 days in a row ...
which was some new crack head record ... then a replacement had to be called in to finish. They work great for a coupla hours ... timing is everything.
It's all just basic management skills ....
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry in Carpentry
Pgh, PA
They work great for a coupla hours ... timing is everything
It helps if it's cooler, too--tough to get much work if they're hiding in a chiller, sweatin' the meth off when it's only 75-78º or so . . .
Mind you, they sometimes forget to stop hammering on a nail that's all the way in, too.
Basic management skills are definitely needed.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Coming soon to a Texas newspaper want-ad section: House for sale, some assembly required.
Maybe it would be a bargain?
Wonder if Tim Mooney would be bidding on it?
"Affairs on the border cannot be judged by standards that hold elsewhere."
I've always said, do it in broad daylight, no one will suspect a damn thing.
Funny story, unless of course your the home owner. Hows that work with the insurance company?
Doug
I've always said, do it in broad daylight, no one will suspect a damn thing.
I'm not going to say much ...
but that is very very true.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry in Carpentry
Pgh, PA
The loss should be covered, assuming they had a standard Fire & EC policy.
You think if they recovered all the parts that they could find some other crack heads to put it back together?
Maybe some of those guys Jeff was talking about>
"Affairs on the border cannot be judged by standards that hold elsewhere."
Reminds me of the "COPS" episode where the crack head is pushing a water heater down the street in his wheelbarrow and doesn't realize the trail of water leads back to a kicked in basement door- not the curbside trash, where he claimed to have found it. HOME SHOPPING NETWORK AT IT'S ROOTS!