Update: Electrician imposter arrested after violating probation

Update: Chris Harrell is no longer a free man. He’s accused of posing as an electrician and leaving shoddy work and empty pocketbooks in his wake. We know he was arrested Tuesday night in northwest Oklahoma City. He’s been on the run for weeks after he skipped court in Oklahoma County. Court records show when he failed to appear, his attorney withdrew from the case. Over the past year, dozens of Oklahomans have come forward, saying they were scammed by Harrell. Kim and the others, breathing a sigh of relief, for now. “It’s been two years,” she said. “I haven’t seen a dime. It’s the satisfaction of knowing he’s serving his time and not scamming any other people.” A judge denied bail for Harrell. That could change once he’s arraigned. We’ll check back. Looks like Chris Harrell is wanted in Logan County for violating his probation. Court officials there telling the In Your Corner team he wasn’t paying his court costs. In Oklahoma County, the troubled electrician still has that pending criminal case against him, where he’s accused of posing as a licensed contractor “to cheat and defraud customers.” Kim Barfield told News 4, “My son called and said, ‘Mom, these wires are going everywhere. It looks like an octopus and the wires won’t even fit in the box where you can close it.’” She was so mad and determined, she started a Facebook group with the sole purpose of bringing Harrell to justice. New gripes are posted weekly. A recent one included photos showing Harrell with his hands in a customer’s breaker box. We know his electrician license expired a year-and-a-half ago, and the state fined him thousands of dollars for contracting without one. We checked with the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board. As of Thursday, those fines still hadn’t been paid. The same goes for the customers who sued Harrell and won in small claims court. He’s got bigger problems than the In Your Corner team on his tail. Authorities are after him in Logan County, and he’s due back in court in Oklahoma County later this month. Our In Your Corner team was in court Thursday, tracking down an electrician impostor. It was our team’s first glimpse of Chris Harrell in person. He tried his best to ditch our camera. Moments earlier, Harrell couldn’t run from the judge – this time, answering to new fraud charges. Kim Barfield is one of dozens of people who said Harrell posed as a licensed electrician, which he’s not, and targeted them on social media. “I posted on Facebook, needing an electrician, and Chris responded ‘I can save you money [and] I can do this, blah, blah, blah,’” Barfield said. Barfield sued Harrell and won but can’t collect. Harrell’s playing with fire, still on probation for fraud convictions in Cleveland, Logan, and Oklahoma counties. Thursday, Harrell wasn’t in the mood to talk to our team and made a beeline for the courthouse stairs. Harrell’s due back in court in mid-June. We’ll continue keeping an eye on his case.