HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – The man at the center of a KPRC investigation has turned himself in, more than a year after after we first exposed accusations of theft.
Nearly a dozen people accused Marcus Thompson of taking money to do work on their property, saying he disappeared doing no work at all.
Thompson was charged on Dec. 12 and had been on the run, until Wednesday.
He turned his himself in and a judge set his bail at $30,000.
As Thompson walked into court, KPRC’s Leigh Frillici asked him, “We have heard that a lot of people are out tens of thousands of dollars, do you have anything to say, Mr. Thompson?"
Thompson kept walking and did not answer.
Thompson’s former customers have questions about pole barns, horse stalls and workshops, they say they paid Thompson to build.
Customers we spoke with say Thompson barely started the construction and never finished.
Now, the owner of the Lone Star Barn Company out of College Station is no longer on the run.
Viewers like the Louviere family told Channel 2 Investigates they hired Thompson to build a small workshop. They took out a $35,000 loan to pay for it. The Louvieres said Thompson has a big chunk of that money and they are stuck paying off a loan for a workshop they don't have.
"He's taken over $21,000 from us and he has done no work at all," said Trisha Louviere.
Six other viewers said they paid Thompson thousands of dollars, in one case $53,000, and that he left them with holes or some framing but not much else.
“He's charged with aggregate theft,” said prosecutor Valerie Turner.
The losses added up to an indictment for theft of $200,000 or more.
The Louvieres and so many other customers would like their money back.
We gave Thompson another chance to tell his side of the story asking if he had anything to say to the people who feel like they are out tens of thousands of dollars, but our questions went unanswered.
If convicted of 1st degree aggregate theft, Turner said it carries a range of punishment from five to 10 years of probation, or up to 99 years in jail. There is potentially a $10,000 fine too.
Most of the time, Turner said the court is more interested in restitution than fines. Thompson is due back in court Feb. 7.