A local pool repairman has been charged with burglary after he was caught loading his vehicle with his customer’s stuff in Evans, according to a sheriff’s report.
Vincent Hargrove, 54, of Augusta, knew his customers would not be home Jan. 26, but he didn’t know the woman’s brother would be there.
The victim’s brother was at the house on Zola Drive that afternoon when he saw a silver truck pull into the driveway and back up to the garage, the report says. He watched the man exit the truck and enter the unlocked side door to the garage before opening the garage door from inside. He then observed the suspect load lawn equipment into his truck bed.
The brother then confronted the man, who he recognized as Hargrove from doing recent pool work. As he approached the suspect inside of the garage, the brother saw Hargrove picking up a Yeti cooler.
Once Hargrove saw the victim’s brother, he immediately dropped it and claimed he was looking for a drink. The brother ordered the worker to put the property back and leave the premises, which he did.
After the suspect left, Hargrove sent the woman a text message that read, “That was a total misunderstanding and I apologize. I stopped by to finish the pool up and was gonna borrow (your fiancé’s) blower and weed eater and return it when I was done. I would never steal from anyone, I was out of line borrowing without talking to him first. The pool is completed and can be filled up. I apologize again and won’t be back out there unless he needs me!”
The woman’s fiancé was in the hospital at the time.
On Feb. 26, Richmond County authorities arrested him for cocaine possession and held him for Columbia County on an outstanding warrant for the burglary. He was transferred to Columbia County on Feb. 28 and later released on bond.
Hargrove called The Jail Report after this story ran initially in our March 4 print edition. He claimed the charges were a misunderstanding and agreed to send his side of the story. But he later said his attorney told him to keep quiet.
A page on the Better Business Bureau’s website lists Hargrove as owner of Vincent Hargrove Pools, which has a B- rating. The page also includes an unanswered complaint that Hargrove “did not complete project putting sump pump and repairing pool liner” despite payment.
