Ryan Henderson is a long time resident of Big Canoe, GA. He has operated for years in and around the community as a contractor, sometimes under the business name of Absolutely Custom Outdoors, LLC. He currently resides as a tenant at 1949 Valley View Dr.; Big Canoe GA 30143 (adjacent to the Nancy Womack Hiking Trail entrance). This Newspaper was recently provided an anonymous tip by a property owner encouraging a public awareness article on Mr Henderson, based upon Criminal Allegations that resulted in his arrest earlier this year.
The allegations have been confirmed by a review of the Warrant and Bond Documents, Booking Sheet and Court Docket publicly available at the Pickens County Courthouse, and it has been determined after lengthy review that it IS in the community interest that facts be publicly shared. An arrest warrant was issued for Ryan Henderson in April 2021. He was subsequently arrested on May 4, 2021 for the following charges:
- Exploit / Inflict Harm to Elderly
- Theft by Deception / Felony
- Theft by Conversion / Felony
The alleged details of the situation are that Mr. Henderson on multiple occasions contracted with elderly property owners within Big Canoe to perform work, and then subsequently convinced them to prepay substantial amounts of money towards “supplies” that would be used to perform the work. Mr Henderson took the money, and then did not perform the work. According to property owner and officer statements, no effort was made to repay the monies. The amount lost by just one elderly couple was approximately $17,000. A review of Ryan Henderson and Rachael Leah Henderson (wife) Facebook Pages show them having a seemingly spectacular 2021, with dining, travel, and enjoying Big Canoe amenities while living at their Big Canoe rental…. presumably on their alleged elderly victims (other community members) money.
After arrest Mr Henderson bonded out on $20,000. According to the District Attorney’s Office the case is still under investigation. Sources within the Pickens County Court System tell FOBC that the system is overloaded and heavily backlogged. After investigation is concluded, and if warranted, the next step would be for Mr. Henderson to be arraigned by a Grand Jury, and then a criminal court date would be set. In the meantime Mr Henderson remains free and with little to no oversite. This is similar to the recent “Walt Devault Child Molestation” article we ran, in which Mr Devault was arrested, quickly bonded, and was walking around unsupervised for 2 years. Thanks to our reporting, others came forward that led to Mr Devault being re-incarcerated after violations of his bond were discovered, in which he was again “babysitting” children. Granted some might not believe that “preying on the elderly” rises to the same severity level as “child molestation”, but it is disturbing to think of what kind of mind it takes to do either of these things. Most disturbing is the fact that the justice system seems to be failing its citizens if it can’t even provide for a basic alert system regarding those that it releases back into society on a revolving door basis.
Furthermore, sources within the POA tell me that there was no knowledge of Ryan Henderson’s arrest, nor is there a system in place to alert property owners, nor to ban his work within the community. And to be clear, this is not my usual dig at the POA…. because it isn’t the POA’s role to dig into weekly court records to see if anyone is on the naughty list. It is just more evidence of how unprotected and unaware citizens are nowadays due to lack of proper media coverage. You don’t have to look much farther than the Big Canoe Smoke Signals “Screen” Newspaper to see evidence of how serious news in the community is ignored.
So this article is simply a public heads up, and a cautionary reminder that it is always with the utmost of care and diligence that Contractors should be provided upfront monies, even when you think they are trusted community members.
There is a 2nd aspect to this article as well. The 2nd part involves what can only be described as the “Shocking & Disturbing” amount of Court Backlog that is happening within Pickens County (blamed on Covid). Hundreds and hundreds of arrests have occurred just in 2021, in which the parties were simply issued a quick bond and were quietly released. In the vast majority of cases, the District Attorney’s Office hasn’t even finished (or begun) a preliminary investigation, much less formally arraigned the individuals. This is perhaps a subject for all local media organizations to start paying attention to.
They say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and that proved true in the Walt Devault case. Public outcry, and other witnesses standing up unclogged the wheels of justice, and got things moving, and Walt off the streets. I am told that “8 -10 others” have had the same experience with Mr. Henderson that initially resulted in his arrest, but not all filed charges. If any other property owners have experienced similar situations with Ryan Henderson, you are encouraged to reach out to the Pickens County District Attorney’s Office by phone (706) 253-3515, or via Message at the Appalachian District Attorney FB Page.
FOBC is ready to do responsible research and act as a watchdog for the community, even when the award winning Smoke Signal “Screen” won’t. If you know of something that deserves public awareness, or investigation, send your tips via email to themtnsvoice@aol.com
or via postal* mail to The Mountains Voice; Box 10887; Big Canoe, GA 30143
* for true 100% anonymity, you can send an unsigned letter, with no identifying info, nor return address.
This Article Shareable Online at our FOBC Public News Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FocusonBigCanoeGA
Peace,
– david / publisher
Focus on Big Canoe, GA
* a publication of The Mountains Voice
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