Monitor Editor
LAKE BUTLER— Union deputies arrested a Lake City man after they said he used his position as a tow truck driver to steal a Ford F-150, and then help himself to tools in the Ford in addition to stripping it of electronics.
Quinton Dale Conner, 47, was arrested on March 29 for criminal mischief with property damage, larceny and vehicle theft.
According to court papers, property owners in Lake Butler wanted the F-150 removed from their land, and one of them called Conner because she knew he drove a tow truck.
“(The property owner) said Conner didn’t give her any paperwork before he removed the vehicle from her property,” wrote Sgt. Charles Townsend in a sworn complaint.
The witness added that the defendant was driving a truck owned by his employer and he busted a window on the passenger side front door to gain entry into the vehicle.
“Procedures for tow companies when removing vehicles from private property are very specific and can be found in Florida Statue 715.07,” wrote Townsend. “Basically, the tow company will provide the property owner with paperwork. Then the tow company is required to secure the vehicle for 30 days and allow the vehicle owner to retrieve the vehicle. If the owner doesn’t make contact within 30 days, the tow company is required to advertise the vehicle for two weeks through local media. If no contact is made after the two weeks, the tow company can obtain ownership of the vehicle.”
Townsend wrote that he contacted the owner of the tow company who confirmed that Conner worked for him but added the employee was never dispatched to pick up the Ford.
“Conner is not allowed to remove or tow any vehicles without being dispatched by (the owner),” wrote Townsend.
The business owner told Townsend that when he discovered that his worker had removed a truck without being dispatched, he ordered the Ford returned.
“(The owner) told me that Conner removed a lot of tools from the truck before he removed the truck from (the business),” wrote Townsend, adding that the defendant placed the tools in a shed on the business’s property.
Townsend reported that he also interviewed the defendant who told him he returned the Ford to the property from which he picked it up.
“This information was misleading because Conner never returned the truck,” the sergeant wrote.
Townsend added that he later located the truck, which had been stripped of its electronics. The business owner found the missing tools in a shed on adjacent property. The tools were valued at over $5,000 and damage to the truck was estimated at $2,000.
