A man accused of charging people for home improvement work that was never done was ordered to spend three years in jail Friday.

Sammy Robert Mullis, 53, was ordered to serve three years and had a probation request denied by Judge Robert E. Cupp in Carter County Circuit Court after appearing on four counts of theft over $1,000 and one count of theft under $500.

Mullis was arrested by the Carter County Sheriff’s Department on a bond revocation on Feb. 28. He was arrested the day before, on Feb. 27, in Charlotte, N.C., and charged with failure to work after being paid.

Mullis first came under investigation in Elizabethton in August 2010 when the Elizabethton Police Department received complaints about him. EPD officials alleged at the time that Mullis had been operating a countertop business and working out of an Elizabethton business.

One victim told police he had paid Mullis to order and install countertops in his residence, and that Mullis received a check in the amount of $1,100 as a down payment but failed to deliver and install the countertops as agreed upon.

The EPD received two additional complaints which alleged Mullis had received $1,500 from two other individuals to order and install granite countertops that the complainants said were not delivered.

The EPD said officers spoke to Mullis and said he told them he would return the deposit to the customer, but that he never did.

He was arrested by the Georgia State Patrol on Jan. 31, 2012, in Dalton, Ga., on charges of willful obstruction of law officers, fugitive from justice, driving while license suspended or revoked, tire violation and improper lane change.
The fugitive from justice charge was filed after Georgia police determined Mullis was wanted by law enforcement in Tennessee, including the EPD and Carter County Sheriff’s Department.

He was extradited to Tennessee on Feb. 18, 2012, and booked into the Carter County Jail on three charges of theft over $1,000 by the EPD and one count by the CCSD.