How I met Juan Garcia and how things unfolded

So here's the story as to how I came to have my unfortunate encounter, 

On June 9th, I placed a Craigslist add soliciting bids from stone masons to repair a stone wall.  Juan Garcia III is one of the contractors that responded that same day and asked to make a bid.  Upon arriving, he took various measurements and provided a bid that was neither the lowest nor the highest bid.  He also shared that his crews were not busy and he could begin work the following day.  During the course of conversation (prior to signing the initial contract), we agreed he would also repair the entire retaining wall (not simply the part that was failing, repair the pool deck by removing the old Kooldeck and recovering with epoxy, and painting the wood surfaces of the house/detached garage.  The original bid was for $5300- $3800 to be paid up front and $1500 due upon completion.

So on Monday June 9th, I provided a check for $3800 which he cashed the same day to provide for materials and cover the cost of labor for his crew.  He agreed to have his crew start the next morning between 7:30AM and 8:00AM.   The next day (Tuesday June 10th), his crew arrived at 7:55AM and began tearing down the old retaining wall.  They also performed a limited amount of initial scraping.  The crew left sometime in the early afternoon and said they would return the following day.

I have already forgotten what time they arrived on Wednesday, June 11th the crew arrived at a reasonable time and started to paint the house with the power sprayer.  During the course of the day, I discussed expanding the project with Mr. Garcia- at this point, I still was not aware of his charade.  We agreed he would also paint the upper patio, tear down a brick privacy wall at the corner of the house, repair cracks in the brick and also replace some damaged wood discovered while they were painting.  The costs of these changes amounted to $700 additional.  Mr. Garcia said that with the change, he needed additional money to cover the extra labor and supplies.  I explained I was not providing any additional money until I had the stone and masonry supplies delivered- especially since they were supposed to be there that same day.  We agreed the supplies would be delivered on Thursday morning and I would provide an additional $2000 upon delivery with $700 to be given when all work was completed.  No notable work was done on the retaining wall this day.

The following morning (Thursday, June 12th), the crew arrived early (about 7:00AM) and started touching up the paint around the exterior.  A dump truck arrived at 8:00AM and delivered a load of sand and stone. I greeted him and he explained that he was distraught because his father had died during the night.  He said he needed the money immediately so he could go to Waxahachie to bid on a job and he was leaving his crew to complete the work.  I advised he was free to take care of personal issues and he assured me it would be completed that day.  At 10:22AM, I noticed it was very quiet outside.  I went outside and the crew and equipment was gone.  This was the last time I saw Mr. Garcia or any of his crew.