A Lewis County Superior Court judge has issued a $20,000 bench warrant for the arrest of a Winlock man accused of taking $27,000 for a construction job he never completed.
The defendant, 31-year-old Jordan McGraw, was hired by a couple to build a pole barn on a property in the 3800 block of state Route 6 near Doty and Dryad in early March 2023, according to court documents.
The couple reported paying McGraw a $27,000 deposit for the work on March 7. At the time, McGraw reportedly said “he could start work right away, as soon as he got the deposit,” but had not applied for permits, purchased materials or started work at the time the couple contacted the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office on March 21, according to court documents.
When the couple contacted McGraw about the contract, he reportedly said “he could no longer complete the job and offered to return the money,” but the couple told law enforcement “he constantly makes excuses about not being able to pay them,” according to court documents. McGraw’s most-recent promise to pay the couple was made March 25, but wasn’t carried through.
An investigation by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office found McGraw was previously licensed in Spokane as McGraw Construction LLC, but his license and bond expired in 2020 and was not active when he allegedly told the couple he was a licensed contractor in March 2023.
McGraw reportedly opened a new bank account shortly after accepting the contract for the pole barn and deposited the $27,000 into it, but the account was “restricted and had no funds in it” by the time the sheriff’s office found it during its investigation, according to court documents.
When contacted by a detective via text, McGraw allegedly said he told the couple “his credentials were not up to date and he was using his partner’s company’s credentials to keep everything legal,” but did not provide the detective with the name of his partner or the partner’s contact information.
McGraw was charged with one count each of first-degree theft and unregistered contracting in Lewis County Superior Court on April 24 and was issued a summons notice for a May 16 preliminary hearing, which he was not present for.
Due to his absence at that hearing, a Lewis County Superior Court judge issued a bench warrant for McGraw’s arrest.
