By Billy Davis

Time has run out for construction worker Brandy Caine, who was sentenced May 21 to seven years in  Mississippi state prison for failing to pay restitution to an elderly couple.

Caine, at a March hearing, had walked out of court a free man, when he avoided a prison sentence with a promise to pay $16,100 to Ron Yancey, 87, and Zelia Yancey, 82.  

He didn’t get a second chance.

“Today is the end of the road for me,” Circuit Judge Andrew C. Baker, who has overseen the ongoing case for seven months, declared from the bench.

Baker then handed down the sentence, a stern one by Mississippi law standards, since home repair fraud carries a maximum 10-year sentence for fraud over $10,000.

Caine, of Courtland, still owed the Yanceys $15,600 when the deadline came, according to a tally of payments he has made.

When the sentence was handed down, Caine, 33, remained stone-faced as he stood beside defense attorney Joe Morgan Wilson.

By last Friday’s court hearing, 21 months had passed since Caine was expected to add a new roof to the Yanceys’ home, located in Sardis.

The elderly couple handed over $17,700 in payments to Caine, when he asked for funds to purchase roofing materials, according to courtroom testimony.

A daughter of the Yanceys, Toni Porter, has told The Panolian that her father forked over three payments before she learned of the promised home repairs.

Neither Porter nor her parents witnessed the hearing.

The Yanceys, armed with a signed contract, met with Panola sheriff’s investigator Mark Whitten in December 2008. By then, Caine was six months behind schedule, the Yanceys alleged.  

Caine pleaded guilty to fraud in November 2009, when he promised in court to repay the money by February 2010. He failed to do so, which triggered the March court hearing.

At the March hearing, attorney Wilson informed the court that Caine had paid $1,600 in restitution.

Wilson assured Baker his defendant would pay the remainder by May, when spring weather allowed Caine to work outside on construction jobs.  

But since the March hearing, Caine had paid only $500 by the May 21 deadline, Assistant District Attorney Jay Hale told the court.

“I’m frankly tired of listening to ‘going to pay, going to pay,’” Hale said.  

Wilson, prior to last week’s hearing, entered a motion to allow more time for his client to repay the Yanceys.

Caine’s father is being paid for contract work for the City of Batesville and the son is due $2,400, said Wilson, citing his motion.

 The city will “cut a check” when its Board of Aldermen meets June 1, he told the court.

Wilson also complained that a previous Panolian story about Caine’s fraud case had prevented him from finding work. The lack of work prevented Caine from repaying the money, he said.

“His business stopped because of the story,” Wilson told Baker. “He is only as good as the work he is able to do.”

Hale, responding to the motion, said the March newspaper story only recorded the court proceedings and included a quote from the daughter, Toni Porter.

The press has a right to cover court proceedings, Hale pointed out.

Baker, responding to Wilson’s motion, delivered his end-of-the-road remark and announced the seven-year sentence.

“If you think The Panolian is at fault for your non-payment, then you’re asking me to believe a lie,” Baker told Wilson and his client.

“This court was giving you a break before the story was ever written,” Baker noted.

Caine was then taken into custody by court bailiffs.  

Caine, although now a Mississippi state convict, has yet another chance. If he can raise the remaining funds owed to the Yanceys, Baker would consider a new sentence.

Wilson, on behalf of his client, asked for the deal after Friday’s court proceedings.
Baker gave Caine six months to pay them back.