(Memphis) Memphis police say an employee of a tow truck company was using the businesses’ equipment to steal cars.
Twenty-seven year-old Justin Irvin has been charged with theft of property for stealing one car and attempting to take another from outside a downtown high-rise.
“This is my transportation. I own it outright. I can’t afford a note,” said James Simon.
That is what was going through James Simon’s mind a few nights ago when he realized someone was trying to steal his 1989 Toyota Camry parked outside the Madison Towers.
He said some neighbors saw a tow truck back up to his car and let him know what was going on.
“They were trying to steal my car,” said Simon.
Simon confronted Irvin, the driver of the tow truck, and another man with him.
They told him they didn’t have any paperwork to take the car and that’s when he called police.
When officers got there they discovered that there was another car on the bed of the tow truck that had been stolen from apartment building on Manassas.
Police arrested Irvin after his employer ‘Memphis Towing and Recovery’ told them he wasn’t authorized to pick up any cars that night.
The other man with him managed to get away.
Simon is just grateful his neighbors were watching.
He says, otherwise, he might be picking up what was left of his car from a salvage yard, “I’m glad my neighbors are my neighbors. We kind of look out for each other.
Irvin is charged with theft of up to $10,000.
