WEATHERFORD—Former Stalworth Construction owner Stephen Ray Burch already has a slew of civil litigations against him and on June 5 he added two more felony charges to his repertoire, according to the Parker County Sheriff’s office. Officers charged the general contractor with misapplication of trust funds equaling $500 or more and property theft between $30,000 and $150,000 for a job he was hired to do in October 2021, but reportedly never completed. A judge handed down a $20,000 bond for each charge and Burch was released the same day, Parker County records show. Sheryl and Jayson Hammett, of Weatherford, hired Burch in October 2021 to construct a storage building on their property, according to the case’s probable cause affidavit. Sheryl stated she paid Burch $133,894.20 of the total build price of $196,157 by January 2022. In his report, Investigator Terry McDowell wrote that Sheryl said Burch didn’t buy windows, complete the storage area or purchase and install a spiral staircase. The contractor allegedly requested more money from the couple in August 2022 and was denied. Sheryl told McDowell that Burch stopped communications with them in the fall of 2022, according to the affidavit. “Affiant spoke with Stephen Ray Burch who admitted to the list of work not completed and materials not purchased,” McDowell wrote in the affidavit. “Stephen Ray Burch admitted that he stopped communicating with the Hammetts and was unable to complete the build due to not being able to pay the sub-contractors.” After reviewing Burch’s bank records, McDowell found “misapplication of Trust Funds in the amount of $38,914.25 when the Hammett check was not deposited into a construction account. Affiant observed that Stephen Ray Burch diverted funds from the business account on numerous occasions for personal use or purchases.” McDowell estimated the total theft to be $63,914.25, according to court records. Burch, of Mineral Wells, is also facing a felony theft charge in Hood County following an arrest last January. Granbury police records show Richard Lewis Johnson hired Stalworth Construction to do some remodeling in June 2022. Johnson told Officer Brayden Gregory he paid Burch $23,785.88 as a down payment on the estimated $79,286.25 project. The job was scheduled to begin in late August 2022 or early September 2022, reported Gregory. “Mr. Johnson stated that Mr. Burch never bought any supplies and never started the project,” Gregory wrote in a police report. “Mr. Johnson stated that at first Mr. Burch was friendly and attentive when it came to contact. Mr. Johnson stated that shortly after contact was hard to make and then not at all.”
