Lena man charged in Grant home contractor fraud case

A Lena man has been charged with home improvement fraud after Grant Parish homeowners had to hire someone else to correct his work, according to a release.

A report was made to the Grant Parish Sheriff's Office, saying that 35-year-old Brian Derrit Beebe had claimed to be a licensed contractor when he was hired to do extensive work on a new home.

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"The homeowners learned that the man had done the work so improperly that they had to hire someone else to come and correct all of the mistakes that had been made," reads the release.

Beebe, of the 500 block of O'Bannion Road, also had allegedly told the homeowners that he needed to borrow some money to buy new tools because his had been stolen. The investigation by Detective Dale Whitstine found that Beebe actually had pawned his tools, it reads.

Beebe was booked into the Grant Parish Detention Center on charges of home improvement fraud and theft of more than $1,000.

Beebe has been arrested in Rapides Parish for related offenses, according to records. The Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office arrested him in November 2018 on charges of theft, issuing worthless checks greater than $1,000 but less than $5,000 and residential contractor fraud greater than $5,000 but less than $25,000.

He also is set to be arraigned on March 8 on a felony charge of issuing worthless checks stemming from an incident in November 2017, according to the Rapides Parish Clerk of Court website.

People with home improvement projects can check the licenses of potential contractors by visiting the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.