El Paso contractor pleads guilty to felony theft, sentenced to 13 years

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) - El Paso contractor, Daniel Barajas, pleaded guilty to two felony theft charges after defrauding 36 victims out of more than $600,000.

The first felony charge involves 21 victims with damages exceeding $379,000, while the second felony involved 15 victims and damages of more than $330,000.

According to the El Paso County Attorney's office, the charges stem from deceptive business practices after the victims hired him to make home improvements, which were left incomplete.

County officials said the multiple cases, individually, would have qualified only as misdemeanors. However, "to address Barajas' pattern of habitual criminal behavior," they combined the cases to elevate the charges.

During the court hearing ABC-7 was there as nine victims gave their impact statements in front of Barajas. Some were emotional, and others showed anger.

"I felt disappointed because they only gave him 13 years for all the scams he did," said Roberto Silva, victim. "He took about $45,000 from us, he never finished it, he just left."

At least 13 of the victims were elderly residents living on a fixed income.

The County Attorney's office said Barajas has a long history of legal troubles.

"In 2009, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor deceptive business practice charge after failing to complete a $6,200 construction project for a local homeowner. He also has several prior felony convictions, including multiple theft charges in 2017 and a drug-related offense in 2009," the County stated.

Emily Dawson, Criminal Division Chief El Paso County Attorney's office, shared tips to the community about choosing the right contractor for work.

"Do your due diligence. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Call our office and check with us to see if we have pending cases against you, the individual. We can usually provide that information. Check with the city, check their licenses. Don't give them all the money up front. Verify their work with people who have worked with them previously, and any good contractor should be willing to do all of those things in order to gain your trust and to do the work," said Dawson.