A contractor faces a felony charge in Columbia County after allegedly taking over $45,000 for a home accessibility project and abandoning the job.
Authorities say Jay Patey was hired to modify a Columbus home for a disabled resident, but work abruptly stopped with roughly $30,000 in improvements left unfinished.
Investigators say Patey failed to buy the necessary building materials despite receiving full payment, leaving the homeowner to hire another contractor to complete the work.
He was arrested at his Burnett home and is expected in court in November.
