The organizer of a hot air balloon event that came to Atlanta in early August no longer faces a felony theft charge in Indiana, records show.
Richard “Ricky” Garvie, 35, was accused of stealing a $20,000 hot air balloon in Indiana, but the charge was dropped Aug. 26, according to Indiana court records.
First Deputy Prosecutor Jeffrey Kehr of Monroe County, Ind., said prosecutors could not determine if the alleged theft took place in their jurisdiction.
“Our understanding is that the case is more properly venued in New Mexico,” Kehr said.
Garvie did not respond to multiple requests for comment, after initially contacting the AJC about his case.
On Aug. 1, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Garvie had a had a history of complaints and charges in places where he'd staged hot air balloon events around the country.
Garvie, a native of Great Britain, operates his business under the name “Midflo” and has had criminal charges filed against him ranging from theft to fraud.
A balloon seller in Indiana said Garvie didn’t pay him for a balloon in 2018 that police found at one of Garvie’s events hundreds of miles away in Florida in March.
Andy Richardson, the balloon seller and owner of Adams Balloons, previously told the AJC that Garvie “almost single-handedly put me out of business.”
Richardson’s lawyer, Day Hochman, said this week the theft case was dismissed because the contract between Richardson and Garvie for the balloon was signed in New Mexico, so the case will need to be re-filed in that jurisdiction.
“It doesn’t mean that he’s off the hook. It doesn’t mean that my client lied,” Hochman said. “It simply means we’re going to refile it in another state.”
Prosecutor Kehr said it would be up to New Mexico authorities “to determine what, if any, charges are appropriate.”
Garvie was also charged with fraud for failing to pay a $5,572 hotel bill in March 2018 during the Sarasota Balloon Festival, according to court records, but the charge was dropped in November.
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