From Florida

STUART — Employees of a car repossession firm were attacked by a truck owner and employees of a local tire store when they attempted to tow the vehicle Tuesday afternoon, according to a Stuart Police report.

Employees of Allen's Recovery were acting on behalf of SunTrust Bank when they showed up at Great American Tire, in the 800 block of Southeast Monterey Road, to tow a 2001 Dodge Ram truck. But when they went to hook up the vehicle to a tow truck, one Great American Tire employee deflated the tires on the Dodge Ram, and another employee parked a second vehicle in front of the tow truck to block the exit, according to arrest reports.

Meanwhile, Stuart resident Terry Allen Brink, 33, allegedly jumped into the tow truck and tried to drive off with it, but he managed to only move about a foot because he was blocked in. His friend, 21-year-old Juvanal Tapia, and an unidentified person allegedly punched an Allen's Recovery employee in the head, according to reports.

The truck owner didn't get involved in the fight and has not been charged in connection to the incident, said Sgt. Marty Jacobson, Stuart Police spokesman.

Brink was charged with felony grand theft auto and Tapia was charged with misdemeanor battery.