UPDATE: Casey Alexander Cooke, 32, Sullivan, Ind., was arrested on Sunday, October 20, on two warrants, one issued on preliminary charges of felony theft and misdemeanor home improvement fraud, and one issued on a preliminary charge of felony home improvement fraud. His bond was set at $5,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed in the first case and $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed in the second. He posted $900 and was released later the same day. Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Coy was the arresting officer. Cooke is scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court for his initial hearings on Thursday, October 31.

STORY posted earlier on Friday, October 18:

Two warrants are out for the arrest of a Sullivan man accused of bilking two people in Greene County out of substantial sums of money for work that was never performed, over $13,000 in one case and in another case, over $5,000 from an 85-year-old whose house was in need of repair.

Casey Alexander Cooke, 32, Sullivan, is wanted on two warrants issued in two separate cases that were investigated by two different officers from two different law enforcement agencies.

The first case was filed against Cooke on October 10 following an investigation by Deputy Jordan Gooding of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department. In this case, a resident who lives on North State Road 59 allegedly paid Cooke $13,390 in December of 2018 for work to be done on his home. The resident said Cooke never came out to do the work and he wanted the work done or he wanted his money back. The resident told Deputy Gooding that when he talked to Cooke, Cooke said he didn’t have the money to buy supplies because he had spent the money on other things. Deputy Gooding reported he had evidence that made it clear Cooke took the money and never contemplated doing the work, including a copy of the check and copies of text messages and Facebook messages between Cooke and the resident.

The second case was filed against Cooke on October 16 following an investigation by Officer Orry Phipps of the Linton Police Department. In this case, an 85-year-old resident who lives on H Street NE in Linton allegedly paid Cooke $5,838.60 this past May for work to be done on his roof which had been damaged in a storm. The man said Cooke cashed the check but never came to do the work. He told Officer Phipps that he had talked to Cooke off and on for a while and on one occasion, Cooke told him he was busy but would get to the work when he was not busy. The man said he had not been able to reach Cooke for the last couple of months and that Cooke was not answering his phone or returning his calls.

In the first case, Cooke is facing preliminary charges of:

• Theft – value of property is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony, and

• Home improvement fraud – contract price is $1,000 or more, a Class A misdemeanor.

In the second case, Cooke is facing a preliminary charge of:

• Home improvement fraud where victim is at least 60 years old, a Level 6 felony