2 victims say sign contractor owes them money

The subject of a KSAT 12 Defenders investigation is speaking out after his arrest on theft charges.

Sign contractor Norberto Castrejon proclaimed his innocence while two of his former customers are demanding their money back.

"I'm a decent person. I have 10 children. I'm a family man," Castrejon said.

An arrest affidavit named him as the man who took $3,600 from Jimmy Burns for work on several signs yet did not complete the work.

"I never got the signs,” Burns said.

Burns is a graphic designer who saw Castrejon on a Defenders report earlier this month and filed a police report.

"I hate to put anybody in jail but if he's going to continue to do it, he needs to be in jail," Burns said.

The arrest affidavit also reveals that Castrejon has been arrested before on theft charges.

"I'm supporting my family (and) the only way I know is building signs or painting murals like this,” Castrejon said, pointing to a giant mural on the outside wall of a Mexican restaurant. “I'm a sign guy and I've been in San Antonio since 1987."

Castrejon said because of KSAT 12 Defenders news reports, he has had customers demand their money back.

He said these are civil matters, not criminal.

"I'm not a thief,” Castrejon said. “I'm just a guy in a lot of trouble right now because of what's happening and I need to come up with a lot of money."

Julie Ann Winkler wants $800 from Castrejon for a sign she never got for her shop.

"He drew up the specs for us and we agreed on a schedule for fabricating the sign," Winkler said.

But Olmos Park police agreed with Castrejon and declared this a civil dispute.

San Antonio police, however, call their case a crime, so Castrejon still faces a court case.

He also faces sanctions from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation after they found he bid on a job without being licensed as an electrical sign contractor.