A Newcastle Veteran And Family Say They Are Victims Of Botched Contractor Job

A Newcastle family is on the hook for thousands of dollars in repairs after a contractor left their floors, cabinets and appliances covered in paint.

"When we first went into our living room, we thought, well, he's over sprayed," said homeowner Amber Davis. "But then, as we went further and further into our house, we could tell that this wasn't just overspray, that he had done this on purpose."

The Davis family said they hired Raymond Rampersad, who came from a search for area painters on Facebook. Rampersad provided references, who vouched for him. But, the family was not aware of his criminal history. Online court records reveal he has felony convictions for burglary and larceny.

News 9 called the two numbers Rampersad used to communicate with the Davis family, but both returned as out of service.

"It was a scam and it was malicious," Davis said.

The family said they agreed to pay Rampersad $2,000 to paint the interior walls of their home. The job went well enough the first few days, but on the last day, they founds surfaces everywhere covered in paint. In the bathroom, there was evidence of paint flushed down the toilet and sink.

"He told us he did it because we were typical Americans," Davis said. "And that's upsetting to me because my husband, he's a 100% disabled veteran."

The family reported the incident to Newcastle Police and their insurance company, but, their insurance has currently left them to pay out of pocket. 

Davis posted about the incident to Facebook, which she said detailed threats to sexually assault her from an account claiming to be a relative of Rampersad. Davis and her husband believe it is a fake account from Rampersad himself. 

She reported the threats to the police.