New mom, owner of stolen car gets $600 bill from tow company

Gainesville’s vehicle towing companies are not the most beloved businesses in town, given it seems they can swoop in and hitch up an illegally parked car faster than a superhero could lift a car to free someone trapped underneath.

Most of the complaints stem from roam towing, and the towers say they are simply doing what a business hires them to do — get the cars of people who are not using the business out of the parking lot.

But that scenario was not what floored Richard Gunton when he saw a $600 bill from Shelby’s Towing for a car that belonged to his former wife, Coral Gunton, and was stolen from his driveway.

And it raises issues about victims' rights, the responsibility of police to update crime victims, the costs to get a car out of a tow lot and the value of an insurance policy that covers such expenses.

The bill accrued as Coral Gunton was adjusting to a new baby and after the Gainesville Police Department recovered the stolen car. An incident report said an officer called but could not reach her.

Neither Coral nor Richard Gunton knew the car had been recovered until they got a notice from a State Attorney’s Office victim advocate and, a day later, from Shelby’s.

But it leaves Richard Gunton with a question: Why is a crime victim charged at all for a recovered car taken to a tow lot?

“She’s the victim. Why does the victim have to pay anything,” he said. “When we talk to friends in Jacksonville and Starke and other places, the victim never has to pay anything.”

GPD Acting Chief Inspector Jorge Campos said other law enforcement agencies may have their own impound lots and do not have recovered vehicles taken to commercial tow yards.

Still, Campos said, Gunton should not have been charged such high fees, adding that GPD’s tow program administrator asked Shelby’s to knock down the bill because the car should not have been kept in the more costly secured storage.

“I would assume (the tow company) does not charge them while we are holding onto it as evidence, but once we release it as evidence, if it remains there after that point, the (owners) are responsible for the tow,” Campos said.

“The towing company put it in secured storage when it shouldn’t have been in secured storage. But the victim will still be responsible for the tow fee and some storage fees.”

Corday Huggins of Shelby’s said the bill was reduced by $5 for each day the car should not have been in secured storage. She added the company sent Coral Gunton a certified letter on the seventh day that the car was in the yard as required by state law.

Huggins said the business gets a lot of recovered stolen cars, adding she is aware of other incidents in which police did not reach the owner.

People who can afford a full insurance policy that covers storage fees should get it, Huggins said. And owners of recovered stolen cars may be able to get restitution if the thieves are caught a convicted.

“I always tell people to keep their receipts, especially if they had something done to the car — you never know what people will do when they steal your car,” Huggins said. “The main thing, everybody should have full coverage insurance. If you have that, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

But that extra price is likely too much for people who are looking to cut costs just to make ends meet.

Coral Gunton lives on Richard Gunton’s property. Her 2001 Honda CR-V was stolen on Sept. 1 from his driveway. It was recovered on Sept. 11. She gave birth on Sept. 7 — a bit earlier than expected.

At one point Gunton said he contacted GPD with the case number and was told that the crime was being handled as a burglary of a residence. On Sept. 18, the Guntons got a letter from the victim advocate and then a certified letter from Shelby’s. GPD contracts with Shelby’s to handle its towing calls.

“Granted, (Coral Gunton) was in the hospital but (GPD) could have sent someone to the house to let us know the car was in the tow yard so it didn’t cost us $600 to get it out,” he said. “We went to Shelby’s and they said there was nothing they could do, that this was how it works.”

The Guntons came up with the money, missing a mortgage payment to do so, and got the car on Thursday.

The Alachua County Sheriff’ Office handles the recovery of stolen vehicles in different ways, said spokesman Art Forgey.

If the car can be processed where it is found, the owner can go to the scene to drive it off. If that doesn't happened the car will be towed and the owner will pay.

Sometimes a recovered car must be processed for other crimes in addition to the theft. They will be scoured for evidence at the Sheriff's Office, which will pay for the wrecker to haul it there. If the owner can pick it up there, no fee is charged. If the owner can’t get the car, it will be towed to a lot and the owner is responsible.

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