ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – Five former customers of contractor Raymond Alexander showed up to a St. Charles County court hearing Tuesday, asking a judge to keep him locked up.

Alexander is now in the St. Charles County Jail following a manhunt that took O’Fallon, Mo., Police to Quincy, Ill.

“I’m really thankful to Detective Schneider and the O’Fallon Police Department for doing exactly that,” former customer Eric Hrnicek said outside of court.

Hrnicek, along with former customers Debbra Arndt and Kathy McBee, reported losing a combined $24,000 to the alleged no-show contractor.

“We’re sure there’s more victims out there until he’s stopped,” McBee said.

Arndt added, “Don’t just let him walk away again.”

They all testified in a hearing that the defendant hoped would lead to a reduced bond while he fights his stealing charges.

The judge denied lowering Alexander’s bond in any of his cases. The court record shows six active cases; four of them are alleged probation violations. Alexander will remain at the St. Charles County Jail unless he can come up with $172,000 in cash.

“Great. It’s where he belongs. This is what we need to be doing with criminals that repeat,” Hrnicek commented.

McBee added, “It’s like a big weight lifted off my shoulders. He’s not going anywhere right now. The longer he’s in, the less chance he’s going to victimize somebody else.”

“Maybe this time he will be charged and have to serve the time, because previously he’d just been slapped on the hand and put on probation and walked away laughing,” Arndt said.

Arndt’s case led to a conviction before the defendant contracted with Eric Hrnicek and then Kathy McBee. Now, all three say they’re committed to returning for future hearings.

“It’s a vicious cycle and it needs to end,” Hrnicek said.