The recent arrest of a Prineville man for digging wells without a contractor’s license is rare, but it should be a reminder to property owners who are thinking about making improvements, law enforcement officials agree.

Daniel R. Davis, 33, now faces criminal charges after he took money from two property owners who wanted new wells and worked on three other wells while his license was suspended.

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office was able to arrest Davis after one property owner contacted authorities. The owner had given money to Davis to drill a well, but he never started the work, Sgt. Travis Jurgens said. Jurgens did not know how much money Davis took. Other specifics of Davis’ alleged crimes were not available Tuesday because a grand jury was still reviewing the case.

In the five Crook County cases the Sheriff’s Office investigated before making the arrest, Davis did the well work after Jan. 1. But his license was suspended for nine months in 2005 after failing to file reports with a state agency.

He still owes $5,000 in fines to the state, according to Juno Pandian, the well construction manager for the Oregon Water Resources Department. Because Davis never paid the fines, his license has remained suspended.

”It definitely has that potential (to become a bigger case) by the sounds of it,” Jurgens said.

Davis was arrested Friday on suspicion of three misdemeanor counts of contracting without a license and two felony counts of first-degree theft by deception. If convicted of all those crimes, Davis could face up to nearly 12 years in prison and more than $200,000 in fines, Jurgens said. Police did not release information about Davis’ arrest until Monday.

Such occurrences of well drilling without a license are relatively rare, officials agree, but property owners should always check the references and credentials of any contractors they plan to hire. Contractors must be licensed for virtually all kinds of work, including plumbing, electrical, roofing, flooring, painting and carpentry work – among other things.

Jurgens could not recall any other cases in Crook County of contractors drilling wells without a license, and only ”a couple” of similar cases in the last two years of construction contractors working without licenses. Statewide, Pandian said there have only been about six cases like Davis’ in the last four years involving unlicensed well drillers.

”We urge landowners who are contracting for construction of a well to obtain and check references,” Pandian said.

People can either call the department or go to one of its offices to review the files of any well contractor in the state. The files will verify the person is bonded and insured, and show whether any complaints had been filed against that person.

The recommendation goes for all types of construction, Capt. Marc Mills with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said. He noted that owners can visit the Web site for the Oregon Construction Contractors Board and search by the name or license number of a well contractor to check their credentials.

contacts for checking on contractors

For wells

* Oregon Water Resources Department: 503-986-0900

For all other building contractors

* Oregon Construction Contractors Board: 503-378-4621

* www.oregon.gov /CCB and click on ”Check a Contractor’s License”