A cowboy contractor who got himself "in a complete mess" about finishing off a job got someone to text a customer telling them he was dead. But the victim then saw the man in question the day after carrying out fencing work near Spider Island in Derby.
Steven Hargreaves, 56, of Alvaston, appeared at Derby Crown Court on Friday (June 2). The court heard that Hargreaves "turned nasty" and made threats he would "cut his throat" unless the customer dropped the charges against him. Handing him a 12-month community order, Judge Jonathan Bennett said: “It is a sorry tale.
“(The victim) wanted some fencing and gating done at his house and came across S&T Fencing and spoke to you. Figures were agreed, he paid some money, some work was done but then you got yourself in a complete mess about finishing this job off, Derbyshire Live reports.
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“You even got someone purporting to be your wife to contact him and tell him you were dead (so) what he must have thought the day after he got the message saying you had passed away when he saw you near Spider Island doing some fencing...ironically, he must have thought it was Lazarus coming out of his grave.
“But then it got very nasty and you became very threatening to him. You are going to do 150 hours unpaid work and let me make it clear to you - any breach is reserved to me so if you start trying it on with the probation service and tell them ‘oh I can't do this, I have got to look after my wife’ you are going to get a short prison sentence for wilful refusal. Make sure I don’t see you again."
Mark Achurch, prosecuting, said in March of last year the victim contacted Hargreaves, who runs S&T Fencing and Gardening from his home in Lang Avenue, and he quoted him £2,200 for new fences and gates. He said the man paid £1,175 up front and then, while in hospital, the fencing was fitted.
The prosecutor said: “It was then agreed the gating work would be carried out but (the victim) had to go to hospital. But he was able to see any progress through his Ring doorbell and various CCTV cameras.
“Mr Hargreaves asked for the remainder of the money, which was paid, but then the defendant came up with a number of excuses why the gating work had not been done. He was stringing him along.
“On June 7 he said he was in hospital himself and on June 14 he called to say he was actually fitting the gates but (the victim) could see (on his CCTV) that was a lie. On June 20 someone purporting to be his (the defendant’s) wife messaged to say he (Hargreaves) was dead, but the complainant then saw him in person (near Spider Island) the very next day.
“He phoned asking for a refund and then things became nasty with his making threats such as ‘drop the charges or I am going to cut your throat’ and another message which said ‘you’re dead’.”
After being arrested and charged, Hargreaves appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court, in the city centre, and pleaded not guilty to fraud, electing to take his trial to the higher court. But he later pleaded guilty to the charge. He has 12 convictions for 45 offences including 32 which are theft or fraud-related, the prosecutor said.
Gareth Gimson, mitigating, said his client gets Carer's Allowance for his wife. He said: “It is a curious case, it was not fraud from the outset.” As well as the community order and unpaid work, Judge Bennett ordered the defendant to pay £1,205 compensation to the victim and £535 prosecution costs.
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