Perry business owner arrested, but he says he hasn’t done anything criminal

A Perry business owner has been arrested on felony charges of theft by conversion.

Jacob Coker Wiggins, owner of Cool Breeze Pools and Spas, is free on a $5,000 bond.

Wiggins, 42, of Byron, is accused of receiving customer payments upfront but then converting the funds for personal use while not completing the jobs he was hired to do, according to a Houston County Sheriff’s Office news release.

But Wiggins said he has not done anything criminal, but has gotten behind on his work commitments for varied reasons.

“All this is twisted,” Wiggins said.

The theft by conversion charges against Wiggins follow an investigation into complaints from customers, said Houston County sheriff’s Capt. Jon Holland said.

The cases that have resulted in charges deal with several thousands of dollars paid for work that was never completed over a long period of time, Holland said.

Other complaints are still under investigation, he said.

Additionally, other customers have indicated they were filing or had filed civil complaints, or were referred to State Court to take such action, Holland said.

Wiggins said he has not done anything criminal and if there are any issues, they should be handled in civil court.

He said he’s already settled three of five civil complaints against him.

Wiggins said issues — like a company delivering the wrong pool liner or legitimate employee absences — have caused him delays .

“I’m just behind,” Wiggins said.

A later look at other jail records shows that Wiggins was also arrested earlier this year on charges of methamphetamine possession and theft by taking.

He could not be reached for additional comment.

He was arrested Feb. 9 by Pulaski and Houston County sheriff’s deputies at his business on outstanding warrants for theft by taking from Pulaski County, according to a Houston County sheriff’s incident report.

A small plastic bag containing a “crystal-like substance” thought to be methamphetamine was found in his pocket, the report said.

Anyone who has information related to any alleged theft-by-conversion incidents against Wiggins is asked to contact Houston County sheriff’s Sgt. Patrick Lange at 478-542-2085.

This story was originally published August 1, 2017 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Perry business owner arrested, but he says he hasn’t done anything criminal."