Police: Yakima con man is on the prowl, 20 complaints already filed
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YAKIMA, Wash. -- Take a walk in this Yakima neighborhood and you might guess a Tornado ripped through here.
Jagged trees dangle over houses, stumps uprooted and piles of scattered debris. However, this isn't storm damage. It's all that remains after a con man blew through the area.
"If he did it to me, he'll do it to others," said Bernice Walker, 86.
Bernice says a man who identified himself as Johnny Brown came to her house her and insisted he trim a tree in her yard. Bernice told him no, but he started anyway.
"I kept telling him I could not pay him anything," Bernice said.
Bernice says she ended up paying him $50 to leave her alone. Her son says he had to bring in a tractor to haul away the scraps later.
"I haven't seen her that upset since my father passed away," Ray Walker said.
I spoke to three other neighbors who say Johnny Brown basically ripped off the entire neighborhood, leaving messes a giant tree stump and all the shavings right next to the road.
Police say they received 20 complaints regarding Johnny Brown this year alone and said he was arrested before on charges related to fraud and theft. Detectives say their hands are tied once he takes the cash and runs.
I tried to reach Brown through every number associated with his name and business, Sky High Tree Services. None of the calls went through.
"I'm really disgusted with that guy. He better not come back here again or I'll tell him what I think of him," Bernice said.
Jagged trees dangle over houses, stumps uprooted and piles of scattered debris. However, this isn't storm damage. It's all that remains after a con man blew through the area.
"If he did it to me, he'll do it to others," said Bernice Walker, 86.
Bernice says a man who identified himself as Johnny Brown came to her house her and insisted he trim a tree in her yard. Bernice told him no, but he started anyway.
"I kept telling him I could not pay him anything," Bernice said.
Bernice says she ended up paying him $50 to leave her alone. Her son says he had to bring in a tractor to haul away the scraps later.
"I haven't seen her that upset since my father passed away," Ray Walker said.
I spoke to three other neighbors who say Johnny Brown basically ripped off the entire neighborhood, leaving messes a giant tree stump and all the shavings right next to the road.
Police say they received 20 complaints regarding Johnny Brown this year alone and said he was arrested before on charges related to fraud and theft. Detectives say their hands are tied once he takes the cash and runs.
I tried to reach Brown through every number associated with his name and business, Sky High Tree Services. None of the calls went through.
"I'm really disgusted with that guy. He better not come back here again or I'll tell him what I think of him," Bernice said.
