Police warn of pine straw scandal
RED BAY — Police Chief Janna Jackson warns if someone offers to spread pine straw for you who has an out-of-state license plate on their vehicle, call law enforcement immediately.
Jackson said her department was contacted by a resident on Tuesday when men, who said they were from Opelika, offered to spread pine straw at $5 a bale. The men had a Ohio license plates on their vehicle.
“After we received the report, one of our officers encountered a vehicle with Ohio plates. The driver had a Georgia driver’s license though,” Jackson said. “We told them that they needed to have a business license in order to do work within the city. We believe they have since left the area.”
Not long after that encounter, Jackson said her officers began doing to investigative work and found a news report out of South Carolina about three men who were running a pine straw scam across the Southeast.
Lancaster, South Carolina, police issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) regarding three men from Georgia who were offering to spread pine straw at $6 a bale on Feb. 5.
Victims would not receive an estimate before the work was done. After spreading the pine straw, the men would exaggerate how much pine straw was used and they eventually become aggressive and intimidating toward homeowners about payment, according to a statement from the Lancaster Police Department on its social media page.
Jackson said none of the men her officers encountered matched the photos of the men released by Lancaster Police.
Lancaster Police indicated the men they were looking for had been targeting communities in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia since at least 2020.
OnFeb.9,oneofthethree men Lancaster Police were looking for surrendered to them. Joseph Nasir Butler was charged with obtaining property under false pretenses valued between $2,000 and $10,000, strongarm robbery and criminal conspiracy.
“We want our residents and residents in the Shoals to be aware, and if anyone offers to spread pine straw and has out-of-state license plates, to contact police immediately,” she said.
