LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man wanted on charges of criminally operating as a contractor without a license was arrested on domestic violence charges, according to court documents reviewed by the 8 News Now Investigators.

Alfred Lagunas,  72, is being held at Clark County Detention Center on a charge of domestic battery by strangulation, public records show. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 9 for a preliminary hearing. 

In February, the state contractors board held a press conference to warn the public about the dangers of using an unlicensed contractor like Lagunas.

The press conference was at the home of Barbara Ojito, a senior citizen who cares for her brother. Ojito said, “I thought I could trust” Lagunas, and gave him $8,000 of her savings to repair her roof and back porch.

“And look what happened,” Ojito said, alleging that Lagunas took off with her money and never completed the job. She says the porch is in disarray, needs masonry and other work, and that her roof leaks, electrical outlets are dead and she has no more money to hire a new contractor.

“Now I’m stuck with this,” she said.

Court records show Lagunas missed a court date on the unlicensed contractor charges on March 11 and a judge issued a bench warrant, but now that he has been arrested, Lagunas is due back in court in June. He is not being held in jail as a result of that case.

Lagunas faced similar charges for operating as a contractor without a license in Las Vegas Justice Court in 2014 and was sentenced to perform community service and pay restitution, according to Las Vegas Justice Court records. 

The State Contractors Board says anyone planning to hire a contractor should research that person on the state-licensed contractor list on the Nevada State Contractors Board’s website.

You can also call the board at 702-486-1100 if you need information not readily found on the board’s website.