An Austin, Texas, man accused of bilking a Texarkana, Ark., nightclub of $5,000 by pretending to be musician Ted Nugent's booking agent, is facing criminal charges in Miller County.
Robert James Devine, 64, allegedly convinced management at Shooter's Sports Bar via email and cell phone that he could arrange a date for Nugent to entertain in Texarkana during the summer of 2014 under a contract with Devine's business, Maximus Entertainment, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. Subsequently, staff at the bar learned that Nugent's tour ended in mid-August 2014 and no plans for additional performances existed. Shooter's management contacted Texarkana, Ark., police in September 2014 to report the alleged fraud after a demand to Devine for the $5,000 payment to be refunded went unanswered.
About a month after Det. Tye Whatley took the report from Shooter's personnel, he was contacted by a member of the Travis County, Texas, District Attorney's office with information about the case. The Travis County investigator reportedly told Whatley that Devine had cashed the check from Shooter's at a check cashing store in Austin in July 2014 and used some of the money to buy a used Mercury Villager the day after the check was cashed. Devine allegedly registered the car under Atlantis Talent.
Last year, Devine was sentenced to seven concurrent 10-year terms for robbery in Travis County. All of the robberies occurred in November and December 2014 and Devine was sentenced June 2, 2016. Devine was transferred from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to the Miller County jail in January to face charges of theft of property and unlawful acts involving electronic mail.
Each of the offenses Devine is facing in Arkansas is punishable by up to six years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both. Devine is currently being housed in the Miller County jail. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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