ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg resident Kris Bell, 55, is starting over at 55. She's had to do that after she hired a St. Petersburg contractor to build her a tiny home made from shipping containers.
ABC Action News' Jackie Callaway first interviewed Bell in April. That was months after she paid "Container Living Solutions" manager Jose Feliciano $25,000 for a tiny home. Bell said he never delivered.
“It was a lot. I'm on a fixed income. So that was pretty devastating,” Bell said.
The State Attorney's Office charged Feliciano in October with unlicensed solar contracting, a misdemeanor. The charge stems from another case ABC Action News exposed earlier this year.
It involves former St. Pete resident Maritza Padgett. She paid Feliciano $34,000 in October 2021 to place a container home with solar panels on her Gainesville property, but she said the panels never produced a single watt of power.
“I had to buy a temporary place to live," Padgett said. "I bought a little camper to live in.”
She’s relieved to hear the 49-year-old Feliciano is facing a criminal charge in her case.
Feliciano has pleaded not guilty but may face more charges. Pinellas Consumer Protection confirms it has sent a second case to the state attorney's office. Kris Bell also said the state attorney’s office confirmed with her they are reviewing her case.
“I am extremely relieved," Bell said. "Yeah, I am usually one who's very forgiving. And I forgive him. I just think he needs to pay for what he did.”
ABC Action News left messages for Feliciano and his attorney but didn't hear back. No one answered the door at the home listed for him in court records.
Bell said she has been living with a friend for a year while looking for an affordable place to live.
