A former Statesboro market president for a now defunct bank, who went on to be the manager of the family corporation that purchased Nevil Tire is facing two charges of felony theft by deception.
According to a report from the Statesboro Police Department, Carroll “Tray” Baird was arrested Jan. 30 and booked into the Bulloch County Jail on two charges of felony theft by deception.
The report stated SPD officers went to Vaden Nissan in Statesboro on Jan. 23 for a theft complaint about an employee – Baird – they said stole $10,000 and $15,000 from the business in two separate incidents.
After an investigation, the felony theft warrants for Baird, 46, were sworn Jan. 30 and he was arrested shortly after. The warrants state both incidents occurred at the Nissan dealership on Brannen St.
The first warrant alleges that Baird received a $10,000 payment from a customer on Jan. 2, 2024 for the purchase of a vehicle, while the second warrant claims he received a $15,000 payment from a customer on Jan. 11, 2024 for the purchase of a vehicle. Both warrants state he “intentionally” withheld the payments from his employer – Vaden Nissan.
Baird has been released on bond from the Bulloch County Jail.
A native of Portal, Baird graduated from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor of business administration in finance degree and began a career in banking in 1999. He held many positions, including a teller, working in collections, branch manager, financial specialist, agricultural lender and commercial loan officer.
In 2007, Baird was named market president for the Bulloch County area for Park Avenue Bank, which was located in the now Renasant Bank office on South Main St. The Park Avenue Bank was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance in April 2011 and the FDIC was named receiver.
Baird then went on to work at several other area banks, including the Bank of Newington.
In 2015, Baird and his family purchased Nevil Tire at 2900 Northside Drive West in Statesboro. He served as the managing member of the corporation. In 2018, Baird sold the Nevil Tire building to Bulloch Telephone. In 2019, Nevil Tire built and opened a facility and relocated the store to 173 Jimps Road, just off Highway 301 South at the Gateway Industrial Park. Nevil Tire is no longer open.