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Article
and Video Courtesy of
Channel
9 -- WFTV -- Orlando
Published
May 19, 2010
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 Watch
VIDEO
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TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- Titusville police ordered a towing company to return cars it illegally towed from a neighborhood. Police said it wasn't fair for the towing company to haul cars from the Titusville neighborhood more than 45 miles away to Melbourne.
The cars were parked in front of people's houses. Homeowners said Kendall Towing came through one night and picked up four cars. They even took one man's trailer with jet skis.
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Police said the tow truck driver not only has to return all the vehicles, he faces criminal charges.
"At first I thought it was stolen," resident Aimee Jackson said.
Jackson has had one heart-stopping moment after another. First, she couldn't find the car she parked in front of her house. Then she found out it wasn't just towed away, it was towed all the way to a lot in Melbourne.
"I got kind of mad, actually really mad, because |
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obviously nobody wants their car towed, but then after that they gave me an over $400 bill," Jackson said.
Jackson wasn't alone. Titusville police got complaints from several other homeowners. It turns out the property management company for the Plantation Oaks subdivision signed a contract with Kendall Towing to randomly tow cars parked overnight on the streets. Homeowners said it hasn't been enforced in years.
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Titusville police said it’s illegal to tow cars more than 10 miles away from where they are found in a county the size of Brevard.
"I parked it right in front of my house. I didn't block anybody and he said he didn't care he had a contract. He got very rude on the phone," Jackson described.
The property manager told police he has now terminated the contract with Kendall Towing. Police are now asking prosecutors to file multiple |
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felony criminal charges against the driver, John
Rios.
Jackson said all she wants is her car back.
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"It's terrible. That was one of the only things I owned. I've been laid off since last July from my job," Jackson said.
A representative of Kendall towing told WFTV they believed towing cars 45 miles to Melbourne was legal and they are now consulting their own attorney. They said they are not giving anyone their cars back without paying the towing fees.
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