SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD

GALVESTON - Ector County residents Justin and Tamika Dalton allege a local mechanic swindled them out of $20,000, recent court documents say.  

A lawsuit filed Sept. 17 in the Galveston County Court at Law No. 2 shows the plaintiffs paid Steve McClure, doing business as Steve's Auto Body, $20,132 to perform repairs on their 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 2-Door Coupe after a robbery in the area, however, McClure did not make said repairs.

The parties entered a contractual agreement last Feb. 7, and the defendant cashed the check in the disputed amount issued to him by the plaintiffs' insurance company the next day.

According to the original petition, the Daltons requested the work be completed within three weeks of the execution of the contract, but McClure supposedly took a while.

He promised the complainants the job will be finished and the vehicle delivered by April 6 only for the date to come and pass without any results, the suit says.

Justin Dalton paid McClure a visit three months ago and reportedly discovered none of the repairs were made as the vehicle "was rolled into the driveway in the same condition it was in when original entrusted" to the respondent, stating the defendant subsequently called the police to escort him away.

Attorney Neil G. Baron with the Law Office of Neil G. Baron in Dickinson is representing the Daltons, and Galveston County Court at Law No. 2 Judge Barbara Roberts is presiding over the case.

Cause No. 68,296