Trimmer charged after tree falls onto home, injuring elderly man

Investigators with the Summit County Prosecutor's Office said Cory Howard, 27, of Springfield, is a con artist who is not bonded or insured.

Howard has been charged with theft from a person in a protected class, forgery, falsification, obstruction of official business and operating without a county vendor's license. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Last November, the family of George Homa, 82, hired Alternative Property Maintenance for $3,000 to cut down a tree that was damaged by a storm.

Homa's daughter, Lore Creque, said as soon as the crew started chopping, the tree slammed into the back porch, trapping her dad underneath limbs.

Homa suffered a broken leg, two broken hips, a broken shoulder and a spinal fracture.

On top of that, the workers never returned to clean up the mess.

Barberton Tree Service saw the story on News 5 and removed the tree at no cost a few days later.

Investigators believe Howard put other homeowners at risk by lying about having insurance and forging documents.

News 5 learned that none of the workers at the Sagamore Hills home had valid driver's licenses and plates on the work car were expired.