A local contractor who recently pleaded no contest to charges of embezzlement and was placed on probation in Seminole County now faces extradition to another state for parole violations.

Thomas “Tommy” Agler, the one-time foreman of the Blackburn Ridge Townhouse project, was arrested Saturday and booked into the Seminole County Jail. Authorities confirmed Monday that he was awaiting extradition to Ohio.

As reported by the Seminole Producer in June 2024, Agler was listed as a parole violator at large by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. He was admitted to the North Central Correctional Center in Marion, Ohio in October 2018 following a grand jury indictment for attempted murder, assault and theft.

In June 2018 WSYX-TV, Columbus, reported the following about Agler’s case: “A Delaware County Grand Jury has indicted a man for attempted murder. Thomas Agler, 39, is being charged after he reportedly attacked a Westerville woman after they went back to her house from a night out. ‘The victim told law enforcement she was pushed to the ground, repeatedly hit with a closed fist, and strangled in the driveway of her home,’ said Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O’Brien. The pair ended up back in the car, and the victim jumped out in order to call police. Agler is also being charged with kidnapping, assault and theft.”

According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Agler became eligible for three years supervised parole on June 5, 2021. Under his parole terms, Agler was required to obtain a written travel permit from the Adult Parole Authority before leaving the State of Ohio.

It is not clear when Agler moved to the Seminole area—or if he obtained the necessary permission to do so—but he became engaged to a local woman and was married on May 26, 2023. He was hired that same year by Brandon Streater, developer of Blackburn Ridge, as a foreman.

Agler, who was operating his own construction company at the time, was arrested in March 2024 on a felony count of embezzlement. The arrest stemmed from allegations made by Streater in a theft report. Agler was booked into the Seminole County Jail and released on a $4,000 bond.

According to an affidavit, Streater told police that he had been suffering losses from his construction site for over a month and was also missing an auger, which cost about $6,000 when it was purchased in 2021. Streater said he had been contacted by Nathan Winlock and was informed that Winlock’s nephew, Jeffrey Coffee, had purchased an auger from Agler, and a customer of Agler’s had asked him to work on it but never paid for the repairs. Winlock knew that Agler had worked until recently for Streater and had similar items. According to the affidavit, Winlock felt Agler’s story was suspicious, so he contacted Streater, who provided a serial number that matched the auger and refuted the claim.

Winlock and Coffee were both present with Streater at the time of the report and provided photographs taken inside Agler’s shop on March 23, 2024, which showed items that matched Streater’s missing property. Another photograph showed VP Racing gas cans, along with a large Craftsman toolbox on wheels that Streater stated had been taken from the Blackburn construction site.

Detective Chris Ayers spoke with Streater on March 25, 2024 who said that Agler was allowed to store equipment at his shop at 114 Milt Phillips while he was employed by Streater. Upon his resignation, Agler had been contacted by Streater as well as the new construction foreman about returning the stored items. Both men reported that Agler claimed that he had no property of theirs.

On March 25, 2024 Ayers obtained a warrant from Judge Brett Butner to search property at 114 N. Milt Phillips, which was executed the same morning. Upon presentation of the warrant, Agler opened the building and began to remove items listed on it. According to the affidavit, Agler said that he had not had time to return the items or messages from Streater due to “personal frustrations with the owner and company.” Ayers then asked him if any other property in the building that belonged to Streater’s company, and he stated “no.”

Ayers wrote in his report that he read Agler the Miranda Warning and after acknowledging that he understood his rights, Agler said he wished to talk to Ayers. When questioned if he had sold an auger, Agler allegedly denied it.

Ayers said he then told Agler that his stepson had written a statement, claiming he bought it from him for $700. He also claimed that Agler had told him a client failed to pay for repairs. Agler reportedly told Ayers that he had let Coffee borrow the auger, but no money had changed hands.

At that point Ayers placed Agler under arrest for embezzlement and knowingly concealing/selling stolen property. Once Agler was transported from the building, Ayers inspected the property and found numerous items that Agler had not removed that belonged to the Blackburn Ridge project. The items included a miter saw and stand, which the current foreman identified based on initials marked from their previous supervisor, scaffolding that Agler claimed belonged to an unknown contractor, a DeWalt blower, a DeWalt telescoping light, two electrical fuse boxes and several special-order boxes of banister material that bore the name Blackburn Town Homes. Ayers also found electrical junction, light, and switch boxes stored in cabinets that Agler had allegedly taken from the Blackburn job site as well as other items suspected to belong to the project.

Ayers said that prior to releasing the property, he spoke with Agler’s wife, Mandi. He asked her where all the lumber he saw had come from, and she stated that it was from a job near Maud. When Ayers asked her what kind of job, she stated that they were building decks. Ayers said the lumber was primarily untreated 2x4 104” studs and would not be used in deck making. The items seized were removed from the property by agents of Blackburn and transported to their job site.

Earlier this month, Agler pleaded no contest, and the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor. He received a one-year suspended sentence, which means he will be on probation under the supervision of Oklahoma Court Services.

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