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Man gets 3 years in prison for dead animals, fraud
A man who admitted to ripping off construction clients and allowing dogs to die at his Lockeford home will spend three years in state prison and must pay up to $100,000 in restitution.
Robert Lance Weaver, 38, had at one point had reached a deal with San Joaquin County prosecutors that would have kept him out of state prison. But when investigators learned that Weaver had left an elderly Stockton woman with a shoddy construction job, the original deal was scrapped, and on Friday he was sent to state prison.
"He went from a 38-year-old with no prior record to a 38-year-old with nine felony convictions and three years in state prison, in a matter of months," said Deputy District Attorney Stephen Maier, who prosecuted the case.
Weaver was arrested this summer when county animal control workers found 20 dead dogs and a dead steer at his Linn Road residence in Lockeford. Seven more dogs, which had once been show-caliber, were emaciated and suffering with no water in the summer heat.
Those surviving dogs have since been adopted and are doing well, Lodi Police Detective Lee Patterson said Tuesday.
Weaver had been a contractor for a number of years and previously had valid licenses, Maier said. Then clients began complaining about Weaver's work.
In many of the cases, the landscaping and construction work was shoddy or not completed even though Weaver had been paid, Patterson said.
In July, Weaver pleaded guilty to a forgery charge and was sentenced to four months in jail. In the meantime, the Contractors State License Board learned that Weaver was operating without a license, which triggered more criminal charges.
That second case was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in August, but it was postponed when prosecutors filed charges of animal cruelty.
On Oct. 7, Weaver pleaded guilty in connection with the fraud and animal charges. He agreed to a deal that would send him to the county jail for a year, as well as paying restitution and performing community service.
That day Maier called investigators to let them know the case had ended, but a state investigator informed him that she had just learned of yet another victim.
On the day Weaver's August court date was canceled, he installed a sunroof for an 80-year-old Stockton woman, Maier said. Rather than attaching the roof to the house, Weaver fixed it to the less-than-permanent rain gutters, resulting in what would be a short-lived sunroof.
Maier went back to court, filed elder abuse charges and the plea deal was canceled.
At Friday's court appearance, a judge ordered Weaver to pay $78,471 in restitution to his victims.
In January, the judge will decide if Weaver owes another client approximately $32,000. That client wasn't happy with the lack of progress on a job and asked for his money back, but Weaver paid with a bogus check, Patterson said.
How Weaver will pay the restitution, which could surpass $100,000, remains to be seen.
"At one time, he was a skilled contractor and had a kennel full of prized dogs," Maier said. "My hope is that he goes out and gets a license and does good work for people and can pay the restitution."
The exact reasons for Weaver's downfall have not been made clear, but the first plea deal had included three months to be spent in an alcohol recovery program.
Whether he will still receive such treatment is now a matter for prison officials to determine, as well as his future parole officer.
Maier said he will also try to make sure that a condition of Weaver's parole is that he not own any animals.
Weaver could be eligible for parole in about 18 months.
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.
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Reader Feedback
WOWerzz wrote on Nov 26, 2008 8:59 PM:
tired wrote on Nov 26, 2008 8:09 PM:
Layla Bohm, reporter wrote on Nov 26, 2008 10:56 AM:
GetUrHeadOut wrote on Nov 26, 2008 9:03 AM:
boonablis wrote on Nov 26, 2008 7:12 AM:
wtf wrote on Nov 26, 2008 7:08 AM:
Weaver had just installed a sunroof, attaching it attaching it to the rain gutters rather than the roof of the house. I have to wonder if Weaver, who had received complaints about his work, was doing bad work like this **when** he was licensed.
Soooo....Weaver might want to get his potential substance abuse issues cleared up before attempting to get another contractor's license or he would, most likely, end up back in prison. "
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