CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte woman said she lost hundreds of dollars and was threatened during an alleged landscaping scam, coming forward after recognizing suspects from a recent Channel 9 investigation.
[ READ MORE: Lancaster police hunt for suspects in door-to-door landscaping scam ]
Holly Bryant, a longtime resident in the Eastover neighborhood, said she tried to help the alleged landscapers by giving them a little business. However, she quickly regretted it.
“They came up to me and said, ‘Hey, we’re putting out pine needles. Are you interested?’” Bryant told Channel 9’s Tina Terry.
“And I thought to myself, ‘Why not?’” Bryant said.
Bryant said the bails of pine needles were supposed to be $5 each.
Bryant said she agreed to let the work crew do the front yard and thought it would cost about $100.
However, that wasn’t the case.
“I said, ‘Thanks so much. How much how much do I owe you?’ And he said, ‘You owe $1,500,’ and I looked at him like, ‘It was the joke,’” Bryant said.
She said she protested and there was no way they could have put that much down, but the men threatened her and kicked her dog.
“I’m not paying you $1,500 and, he said, ‘Yes, you are. I’m not leaving. You’re not going anywhere,’” Bryant said.
Bryant said she eventually gave them $500 dollars and rushed into the house.
They kept pounding on the door demanding money, she said.
Bryant believes the men who police said pulled off a similar scam in Lancaster may have been behind the incident in her Charlotte neighborhood.
She’s warning others not to fall for this.
“You just have to say, ‘I don’t need your help,’ because there’s so many dishonest people,” Bryant said.
Lancaster Police said Monday that one of the suspects in their case, Joseph Butler, turned himself into police in the morning. He’s facing strong arm robbery and other charges.
They’re still searching for two other suspects in that case.
There is no word from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on if it’s investigating any similar cases.
VIDEO: Lancaster police hunt for suspects in door-to-door landscaping scam
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