No trial date set for 'Granite Gangster,' accused of defrauding

Charles D. Ogden, Sr., a 49-year-old ex-con accused of defrauding hurricane victims in three Volusia County cities, appeared in court Thursday wearing a gold and black sports jacket.

Ogden didn’t speak. His attorney, John Terhune, said Ogden was attempting to work out a deal with the State Attorney’s Office but none had been struck. He asked a judge for more time before setting a trial date.

“I did deny the continuance that you asked for just a month ago. I’ll grant one more, but this is it,” Volusia Circuit Judge Kathleen Weston said.

She started the morning with several cases at similar junctures and said her intent was — if no plea had been reached Thursday — to move the cases to a docket sounding on Feb. 25 with trials to start March 3. So it appears Ogden might be headed toward a trial in April if no plea agreement can be made.

One of Ogden’s other attorneys, Aaron Delgado, said after the hearing that most criminal cases result in plea agreements, rather than trials, but he did not want to comment further.

Charles D. Ogden, Sr., who is facing 12 felonies related to complaints from hurricane victims who said he took thousands with the promise to fix their homes but either abandoned the jobs or did shoddy work, enters a Volusia Circuit courtroom in Daytona Beach on Thursday.

Ogden, who on social media calls himself “the Granite Gangster,” is facing a total of 12 felony counts involving five different households.

They are: three counts of organized scheme to defraud greater than $50,000, a first-degree felony; four counts of grand theft over $20,000, a second-degree felony; and five counts of engaging in contracting business without a certificate in a state of emergency, a third-degree felony.

Ogden, who previously owned East Coast Countertops & Cabinets, LLC, dissolved that company in May 2022. Later that year, residents in Port Orange, Edgewater and South Daytona said he signed contracts with them using the name East Coast Countertops, and took thousands — in one case more than $130,000 — promising to fix homes damaged by flooding during Hurricane Ian. The homeowners say his crews did shoddy work or never completed what they had started, but Ogden kept their money.

Ogden’s son, Charles D. Ogden Jr., also owns Ceejay Remodeling, LLC, a business associated with the same Holly Hill location as East Coast Countertops. Charles Ogden Sr., is listed on records as a manager of Ceejay Remodeling, which has a registered fictitious business name of East Coast Countertops & Remodeling.

Not to further confuse things, but that Holly Hill location, 1976 N. Nova Road, is also where Daytona Construction & Remodeling Services, LLC, is located. Ogden and his wife Jessica are listed as managers on state business records.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: ‘Granite Gangster’ appears in Daytona courtroom; no trial date set

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