Parolee accused of ripping off Harvey victims

HOUSTON - In 1997, 53-year-old Joe John Erevia was sentenced to 30 years in prison for an aggravated robbery that left an elderly man seriously injured.

He was paroled in February 2017 after serving 20 years.

“I gave him $1,200 to get started,” said Tory Jones.

It was money Jones said he gave Erevia to do body work on his van. Jones says he never saw Erevia again and all he got for his money was excuses.

The convicted felon found other handiwork through social media.

Dewight and Janice Stahl say they gave Erevia $2,000 for materials after hiring him to repair their driveway.

“When he showed up I just had a bad feeling, women’s intuition I guess,” Janice Stahl said.

After learning more about Erevia, she started a Facebook page and discovered several homeowners who allegedly gave the parolee money with little or nothing to show for it.

Many were victims of Hurricane Harvey like Julie Morales.

“You’re devastated anyway, because you are without a home and scared of all the flooding,” she said.

In a telephone interview, Erevia claims no one wanted him to finish the work once they learned about his criminal past, but customers we talked to deny that.

Erevia spent his first year on parole wearing an electronic monitoring device. He told FOX 26 if anyone asked him if he was a convicted felon on parole wearing an electronic monitoring device, he would tell them but no one asked.

“There’s a special place in hell for him,” said Cindy Jones. “A special place.”