Former owner of Quincy business will have two felony counts dismissed if he pays plaintiffs $12,000 by May 6

QUINCY — The trial against one of the former owners of a Quincy business facing two theft charges was dismissed last week, and the trial for the other former owner also will be dismissed — if he follows through with an agreement reached Tuesday in Adams County Circuit Court.

The trial for Andy P. Reardon, 58, of Spring Hill, Fla., was placed on the February jury docket during a Jan. 24 pretrial hearing. However, a trial for his wife, Michelle M. Reardon, 52, was dismissed at that hearing after Assistant State’s Attorney Brett Jansen filed a nolle prosequi — a formal entry of record by the prosecuting attorney who declares he or she is unwilling to prosecute a case.

Both sides met again Tuesday for what was scheduled to be a motion hearing. Defense attorney Justin Summary had filed a motion asking that hearsay statements from two witnesses not be allowed during Andy Reardon’s trial. However, that motion was not discussed on Tuesday.

Instead, Jansen said a deal was struck.

He said Andy Reardon has agreed to pay a total of $12,000 to the plaintiffs — Melissa Drew and Stephen and Debra Kraus. However, Andy Reardon must make those payments before a May 6 status hearing that was scheduled Tuesday by Judge Scott Larson, or Jansen said the plaintiffs will be allowed to go ahead with a bench trial.

If Andy Reardon meets the payment deadline, his case will be dismissed.

The Reardons were charged with two counts of theft by deception — one for between $10,000 and $100,000, a Class 2 felony punishable for between three and seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, and one for between $500 and $10,000, a Class 3 felony punishable for between two and five years in prison.

The Reardons previously owned Backyard Adventures Pools and Spas LLC, 1800 Broadway, in Quincy. A Dec. 8, 2021, story in Muddy River News detailed multiple complaints filed by dissatisfied customers against the business for shoddy work installing pools and spas.

The Reardons were arrested and booked in the early morning hours of Sept. 27, 2023 by the Hernando County Sheriff’s Department in Brooksville, Fla., on an Illinois warrant. 

An Adams County grand jury indicted the Reardons on Sept. 7, 2024, on both charges. Each count said the Reardons “knowingly obtained by deception control” over property — belonging to Drew on or about Nov. 22, 2021, in the first count and the Krauses on or about Dec. 1, 2021, in the second count. The Reardons allegedly took money from Drew and the Krauses and deceived them about what they were supposed to get.

The case was set to go to trial in August, but Summary said at a July 9 hearing he was unprepared because he was waiting on four years of bank records. Brenner moved the case to the October jury trial docket, and it was moved again to December before Larson put it on the February docket.

Read more about the Reardons and Backyard adventures here.