Crime & Safety

Lilburn Man Charged in Roofing Scams

Billy Ray Norris has been charged with theft by deception.

City of Stone Mountain police chief Chancey Troutman praised his detectives and the work with police departments of two other metro Atlanta cities for help in the February arrest of Billy Ray Norris, 66, of Lilburn.

Norris has been charged with theft by deception after allegedly scamming elderly who paid him to do roofing work that was never carried out.

"This is the gentleman that defrauded my elderly on West Mountain Street," Troutman said at the city council work session this week. "He's also charged up in Dunwoody and Johns Creek."

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When Troutman showed Norris' mug shot, at least one person in the audience said "Billy." Troutman asked if audience members knew him, and some said they did.

"We did get him in custody with the hard work of my detectives. [They] did a good job to apprehend him. Once we apprehended him, Dunwoody and Johns Creek got him, so he has more counts on him."

Find out what's happening in Lilburn-Mountain Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Troutman said Norris "is the one that goes to the elderly's homes and tries to do work on the roof and takes a certain amount of money and goes on about his business."

Lilburn resident Joyce Skipwitch says she paid Norris $1,800 in 2010 to reroof her house, giving him money up front because the roofer said he needed the money to buy supplies. He never came to do the job. Every time she called, he said he would be out the next week. But he never showed up again, and eventually Skipwitch stopped calling.

Troutman said he tried to pay some of the money back but the attorneys for the elderly would not accept it.

"Several of my neighbors will be very happy about this gentleman going bye-bye," city council member Richard Mailman said.

Skipwitch's case, at least, had a happy ending: Ron Herring of Superior Roofing in Lilburn with materials donated by CRS.


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