Court date approaches for Sanders

By Lesley Jenkins
Star Staff
ljenkins@starhq.com

   Carroll Carson Sanders has until Feb. 6 to return to Carter County and appear in General Sessions Court on two charges of theft over $10,000. Two additional warrants for theft over $10,000 and theft over $1,000 are also waiting to be served to Sanders who left Carter County after posting a $125,000 corporate bond on Jan. 10.
   Authorities with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Carter County Sheriff's Department, Elizabethton Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and Georgia Highway Patrol have been actively pursuing Sanders since he vacated his home at 525 Golf Course Dr. and his business, East Tennessee Motorsports, located at 1510 Stateline Rd. and 238 East Elk Avenue.
   The Georgia Highway Patrol provided assistance in a lead, according to THP Special Agent Dan Bowman. Bowman could not comment on the lead at this point in the case. He did say Sanders is listed with the NCIC system and is labeled with "nationwide extradition" if he is detained by authorities at any location in the United States.
   If Sanders appears in court on the scheduled date, he will be charged with the additional warrants.
   If he fails to appear in court, Bowman said bondsmen with the bond company with whom Sanders secured the $125,000 bond can find him, but at this time Sanders has not contacted him with a forwarding address or told the company he has moved.
   One of his business locations, 238 East Elk Ave., was leased by Builders First Source. Bob Salyer, Market Manager at the Johnson City location, said, "He (Sanders) has not defaulted on the lease with us."
   Sanders' first lease payment was due between mid February and March 1. "He will be in default on the lease if no payment is made before then," Salyer said.
   Before moving to Tennessee in May 2003, Sanders and his son operated a motorsports business in Arizona, near Tucson. According to Arizona Assistant Attorney General Paul Eckerstrom, Sanders was arrested on May 2, 2003 by the Oro Valley Police Department and charged with three counts of fraudulent schemes and artifice, which are Class Two felonies in Arizona.
   The monetary total he allegedly swindled from customers in Arizona has surpassed $1.6 million, according to the OVPD. Detective A. J. "Buddy" Novak of the OVPD said since learning of the charges and warrants in Carter County, Sanders will not be eligible for a plea bargain as the detective previously planned.
   In Tennessee, he is accused of selling vehicles, parts and accesories to customers on a "sight unseen" basis. According to Bowman, Sanders would give detailed descriptions of the products he was supposedly selling to his customers complete with vehicle vin numbers, pictures, and, on some occasions, handwritten receipts.
   Sonja Broyles owned the house Sanders rented on Golf Course Drive and said victims have contacted her saying Sanders promised the house as "security against the funds they had pad him for parts and services he had never delivered," according to a police report filed by Broyles, who claims she paid $8,700 to Beth McMahan, Sanders' significant other, for a 2003 Toyota which she never received.
   Bowman said, "Recent reports reveal the amount of money has reached over $200,000." Reports continue to be filed at the CCSD and EPD against Sanders.
   On Feb. 3, Drew and Cynthia Cave filed two seperate reports claiming Sanders on one occasion accepted $12,050 in cash. Cynthia Cave, owner of Bankers Auto, paid Sanders $7,350 for three 2003 Chevrolet Malibu LS vehicles and $5,700 for a 2003 Ford F-250 4x4 extended cab pickup truck.
   "Mr. Sanders was originally scheduled to deliver the vehicles in two weeks from the time of transaction (Sept. 11, 2003). Mrs. Cave stated that Mr. Sanders kept putting the delivery off until Mr. Carson left town," according to the report.
  
   The next report, filed by the Caves, states, "Mr. Sanders told them he knew someone wanting to sale a 2001 Fleetwood Discovery Motor Home. On Sept. 29, 2003, Mr. Cave went to Mr. Sanders residence at 525 Golf Course Drive and gave Mr. Sanders $16,000 for the vehicle. Mr. Sanders was to deliver the vehicle at a later date. The vehicle was never delivered to the buyer."