Posted on Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 12:12 p.m.
Superior Township woman accused of threatening tow truck driver with a shotgun
By Amalie Nash
Police say a Superior Township woman threatened a tow truck driver with a shotgun Monday when the driver attempted to tow her vehicle.
The woman, 36, was arrested on a felonious assault charge.
Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies were called to a manufactured home community in the 1800 block of Knollwood Bend at 11:30 a.m. Monday. Management had called Discount Towing to tag and tow vehicles that weren't registered to be in the community, a sheriff's summary said.
A tow truck driver tagged and was preparing to tow one vehicle when the vehicle owner came out of a residence with a shotgun and threatened to shoot the driver, the summary said.
The woman was jailed and is expected to be arraigned this afternoon.
Comments
Vince
Thu, Apr 29, 2010 : 3:10 a.m.
Pretty stupid to pull out a shottie when she could have just jumped in her car and drove to a different area. Unless the car was already hooked, then all she would have to do is start unhooking it. If it was a $300 winter beater, she wouldn't even have to do that! Just start driving, I'm sure the thief would have gotten the picture. If he interfered with her while she was unhooking her property (which was about to be stolen), and used force against her, then maybe pulling out a shottie would have been an option.
John Hritz
Wed, Apr 28, 2010 : 3:48 p.m.
First, this was not a repo. It apparently was an attempt by the landlord to control what vehicles were on the property. I lived at a complex that stickered my brand new car minutes after I parked it in my own space. Seems like they would wait until I complained. It had the same plate number! Whether the woman was a resident and whether she owned the car are unanswered questions. Also not mentioned in the report is whether the landlord had communicated the registration requirement and what the consequences of not registering would be. As for interfering with a tow, does the misdemeanor apply to a police requested tow only? Or does it extend to a citizen contracting with a towing company directly? Sounds kind of ham-fisted to me...
doa1977
Wed, Apr 28, 2010 : 5:01 a.m.
Towing cars for profit hmmmm? mannyredline.Antagonistic?.Get blindsided or shot by someone for there stupidity when they know they are not to park there? mannyredline. Why else would any Towing business be in business or any business for that fact?.The vehicle was not registered to park there?..tow it!.Do not live there tow it!.A man gets a shotgun pulled on him for doing his job,if Discount Towing wasn't there it would have been another Towing Co..Charge Her with in anyway possible..
swcornell
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 11:04 p.m.
I always felt that towing a car without the owners knowledge is sort of against due process. You should have to be informed before the car is towed. Where's the due process? Slapping a ticket on the car while it's being towed isn't exactly due process as I understand it. It's funny that when there's an accident on the road or highway, it takes hours to get the cars moved off the road. Traffic is all snarled up waiting for this to happen. But park in the wrong spot and your car is gone in 15 minutes.
trs80
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 5:37 p.m.
@rroeyc. Maybe if she paid her car note, parked it legally, or whatever the reason was the Tow truck driver would not have had to go there and do his JOB! How can you say she was in the right? Besides if she was then all she had to do was call the Fuzz and report the huge tow truck 'stealing' her car. Kind of hard to miss a tow truck dragging the car going down the road.
scooter dog
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 4:15 p.m.
I was refering to the tow driver using deadly force against the woman who pointed a gun at him,not the other way around.
Ricebrnr
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 3:29 p.m.
Except nowhere in the article is it mentioned the woman felt the need for self defense and besides, this would not have be a "good" shoot for two reasons. 1) You do not have the "right" to use deadly force to defend property 2) The woman had to have left her "safe" position within the home to confront the person towing her vehicle. Thus creating the situation in which she might have felt unsafe in the first place. House Bill #5143 or any other Castle or self defense act is not a get out of jail free, double O license to kill. You have the right to self defense but you still must be able to articulate and convince authorities and possibly a jury of the righteousness of your actions. IANAL
scooter dog
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 2:28 p.m.
There is a new law on the books in michigan that very few people know about its House Bill #5143,look it up on google.it says Anyone,ANYONE who feels that their life is in danger of being taken or physical harm is about to be cast upon them can and I repeat can use whatever deadly force is deemed appropriate to include shooting someone to defend themselves without recourse.
Wolverine3660
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 2 p.m.
Not in Texas- if the tow driver was doing a legit tow or repo, she will be charged.
ferdcom
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 1:50 p.m.
In Texas she could shoot the guy.
xmo
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 1:16 p.m.
Once again, more violence shown against men!
trs80
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 12:53 p.m.
Thanks Captain obvious.
Tom Joad
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 : 12:01 p.m.
Manufactured home community...in other words, the trailer park