[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 09/01/20]
LADY LAKE, Florida — An unlicensed contractor who has been doing unlicensed work since at least 2004 is behind bars for the second time in less than a year.
David Carl Hall, 49 of Leesburg failed to properly seal a roof and paint the exterior of a 67-year-old Lady Lake woman’s home in an age-restricted community in May, according to a probable cause affidavit. Hall, who provided the victim with a business card with the name “Halls Professional Services” and a fake license number, charged the woman $2,400 and stole five aluminum awnings from her, she told Lady Lake Police.
The victim said Hall removed the awnings during bad weather and took them with him to paint them; more than a month later he still had not returned them and he texted the victim, “’your awnings mysteriously came up missing when I was going through that crap with Annie now that I finally replace them I will see you after while.” Hall never returned the awnings.
A warrant was issued for Hall’s arrest on Aug. 11 and he was arrested on a traffic stop Aug. 24; A Lake County Sheriff’s deputy saw Hall driving a black Dodge truck and knew he had an active warrant and a suspended license, according to an arrest affidavit. During the stop Hall gave deputies consent to search the truck for a phone and a deputy found a glass pipe with residue and a bag of methamphetamine.
Hall is facing numerous charges, including possession of methamphetamine, possession of paraphernalia, driving with a suspended license, forgery, unlicensed contracting, and theft from a person over 65 years old. His bond was revoked in 2019 unlicensed contracting case.
In that case, Hall is accused of taking nearly $20,000 in January 2019 for framing work and tearing the house apart to the point of rendering owner homeless, according to the original complaint to the Department of Business and Professional Regulations. A warrant was issued for his arrest in October 2019 and he was arrested in January 2020, according to Lake County Clerk of Court records. He is charged with unlicensed contracting in that case and his next scheduled court date is Sept. 21.
Hall was warned about unlicensed contracting by DPBR in 2004 the investigator noted in her 2019 report.
Hall’s previous Lake County arrests include exploitation of the elderly, grand theft, uttering a false instrument, and contracting without a license during a state of emergency.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
