KILGORE, Texas — An East Texas contractor accused of scamming multiple customers is now behind bars.
According to Gregg County judicial records, Ignacio "Nacho" Terrones Jr., 33, of Kilgore, was arrested by the Kilgore Police Department (KPD) on March 24 for the following:
- Driving while license invalid
- Grand jury indictment - theft of property >=$2,500<$30K (6 counts)
- Misappropriation of trust fund >=$500 DEFRAUD (2 counts)
- Possession of marijuana
- Forgery of a financial instrument >=$2500<$30K
- Theft >=$750<$2,500
- Fugitive (Kentucky)
In October 2023, the KPD put out a bulletin telling residents to be on the lookout for Terrones who officials say scammed a Tyler family and, possibly, others across the country. Police said he had the opportunity to turn himself, but he chose not to.
One of the victims of Terrones' alleged crimes, Darrall Attaway, of Tyler, said he's glad police were able to get someone like Terrones off the street.
"Going around taking people’s money, he has no business out there doing any kind of work," Attaway said.
In a November 2023 interview, Attaway said he met Terrones through Facebook Marketplace when he offered services as a contractor for electrical work. Attaway said Terrones built a trust with him after doing a few jobs on his and his father-in-law’s homes.
So he later rehired him to repair his father in-law’s roof. However, the roofing job did not go as planned.
Terrones left to “go get materials” and was never seen by Attaway again. He added that after Terrones left the unfinished job, the roof caved into four separate rooms inside the house. That left Attaway out of $4,000 just from his direct dealings with Terrones, not to mention the additional costs that have come with picking up the pieces of his “work."
"With him doing a good job on the electrical work, I figured OK I can trust him. So I paid him, he asked for a down payment and I gave him a down payment, and he took the shingles off the roof and ran off with my money," Attaway said. "I might not be able to get my money back, because I’m out of $14,000 worth of work damage and money I gave him so it’s gonna be hard. But it’s just a lesson I learned. In June 2023, a Gregg County judge ruled Terrones must pay Attaway $14,282.82 after committing construction fraud.
CBS19 reached out to another one of the victims mentioned in arrest documents. They said Terrones did about a half-day’s work and said he'd be back the next day.
"He was given a payment that he promptly went and cashed. That was the last time we saw him," the victim said.
Terrones remains in the Gregg County Jail on bonds totaling $288,000. He is also a wanted fugitive in Kentucky.