Mexia, TX Sheriff's Blotter

Man flags down woman on Hwy-179, says she has tire troubles, then snatched her keys and left with the vehicle......Turned out to be Friendly Joe of Auto Repo.......Repossessed the car for non-payment, left the Lady and her kids on the side of the road.....Her husband now en route to pick them up

From Texas

Amarillo - A man loaded a 2000 Jeep Cherokee onto a wrecker and drove away with it while the daughter of the Jeep's owner watched Wednesday night.

At about 7:45 p.m., the woman approached the man and asked what he was doing. The man told her he was "from the bank" and was taking the Jeep from the residence in the 1000 block of South Pryor Street, the Amarillo Police Department reported.

The woman asked to retrieve some personal items from the Jeep, and the man struck the woman, giving her a non-serious injury on the arm as she tried to enter the vehicle, police reported. The man then towed away the vehicle with a dark green Dodge 1-ton dual-wheel pickup, the APD said.

Police said they have been unable to locate a lending institution that has ordered repossession of the Jeep.

Anyone wishing to repossess a vehicle must immediately notify the APD, police said.

From Indiana

A Porterville man was arrested this morning on suspicion of brandishing a firearm and threatening to shoot the man who was repossessing his car.

The firearm turned out to be a “realistic looking” pellet gun, according to a Tulare County Sheriff’s Department release.

Marvin Miller, 45, was booked on suspicion of brandishing a weapon and making threats. The victim, Brian Williamson, said he was threatened just after midnight in the 1900 block of North Maston Street in Porterville.

From Nebraska

LINCOLN - A man was arrested after police say he attacked three people trying to repossess his car. The man, 59, was working at Shoemaker's Thursday evening when he was told his car was being repossessed.

Police said the man ran outside and got into the car. Two Priority Auto employees, a 22-year-old woman and 31-year-old man, jumped on the hood of the car to keep him from leaving. The suspect drove around the lot, then stopped and got out.

Police said the woman got in the driver's seat and the suspect allegedly grabbed her and threatened the other man with a screwdriver.

He also allegedly punched an 18-year-old employee.

Lot Owner Fires Shot. - North Carolina

A dealership owner was responsible for the lone gunshot fired during Thursday's repossession turned arrest, according to reports from the Pitt County Sheriff's Office.

A sheriff's office spokesman confirmed Tim Stox, owner of East Carolina Auto Exchange, fired a single shot at a sports utility vehicle a man was trying to keep from being repossessed.

Stox fired "in fear his property would be damaged," and probably won't face charges because the .22-caliber handgun wasn't aimed at a person, Chief Lee Moore with the sheriff's office said on Friday.

Thomas Ortiz Rogers Jr. arrived at East Carolina Auto Exchange, 3825 Charles Blvd., intending to trade his GMC Denali, which was due to be repossessed by financiers. The dealership contacted the company that financed the vehicle, which sent a repossession team to the car lot.

Learning his car was about to be seized, Rogers jumped into the driver's seat and attempted to escape, hitting two other vehicles in the process. That is when Stox fired his weapon, Moore said.

The incident report was unclear about whether the bullet struck its intended target. No one was hurt.

Deputies arrested Rogers, 36, of 2414 Ann Lane on outstanding warrants including multiple counts of worthless checks, failure to appear and probation violations. No charges have been filed in connection with the incident at the dealership.

His wife, Anna Bunn Rogers, 30, of 295 Fairmont Ave. was arrested at the scene and charged with carrying a concealed weapon.

Agents Used For Target Practice, Again. - Florida

Two repo agents are shaken, but physically ok after they say they were shot-at on the job. It's a rare but very real danger in a business that's become increasingly busy.

Agents from Richardson Detective Agency go out to repossess vehicles daily, but rarely have to dodge bullets, as two agents say they did on Monday night.

"Telling him, please don't shoot, please don't shoot. I'm a repo man here to check out the truck," Scott Van Dress described the situation. "I can honestly say, the shot was not a warning shot."

Van Dress says he and his partner were trying to repossess a pick-up at a home in Alva at about 11pm Monday night, when a man came out of the house with a rifle and started shooting.

"It would appear to be that we're common thieves, but our job is to fully ID ourselves and make a debtor aware we're here to pick up a vehicle," Van Dress said.

He told deputies he identified himself, but the man still fired at him, leaving the repo agents little choice but to get out of the way, and off the property.

"I'm not allowed to carry a firearm as a repo agent," Van Dress explained. "If I did, that would be a breach of peace."

"All we have is a flashlight and our hand," said RDA office manager Sharlee Walker. "So if somebody is shooting at you-- my life is not worth the repo. See you later, buh-bye, I'm gone."

Van Dress' managers says tough times in other industries have made it busy in the repo business. They're taking in about 70 to 80 cars a week right now, almost as twice as many as usual this time of year.

"I feel sorry for the people we have to go to take their vehicles, because they're families, they have kids."

Walker says while hard times for others are good for their business, it also keeps their agents busy and at risk.

"The laws are working against us," Van Dress said. "Some things have to change to make our jobs safer."

The Lee County Sheriff's Office says there are no charges yet against the man who fired at the two repo agents. The truck owner's wife told deputies he didn't hear the men say they were repo agents. But Scott Van Dress says he plans to press charges either way.

Michael Vick Gets A Taste - Indiana

An Indiana bank sued suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for not repaying loans involving a car rental business.

1st Source Bank of South Bend said in a federal lawsuit it suffered damages of at least $2 million because Vick and Divine Seven LLC of Atlanta had refused to pay for the vehicles. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Last week, the Royal Bank of Canada sued Vick in federal court in Virginia for more than $2.3 million that it said he had planned to use for real estate investments.

Vick pleaded guilty to a dogfighting conspiracy charge in federal court last month and was indicted Tuesday on state charges in Virginia related to the dogfighting ring. He faces up to five years in prison on the federal charge when he is sentenced Dec. 10. He also has been indefinitely suspended by the NFL.

A message was left Friday at the law firm representing Vick in his criminal cases.

Vick signed loan agreements as the chief financial officer of Divine Seven, which bought at least 130 vehicles, including many Kia Spectra and Ford Taurus cars, through 1st Source Bank loans, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in South Bend on Wednesday.

A phone call Friday to a number listed on loan documents for Divine Seven was answered by a clerk at a Payless Car Rental office in Atlanta. The Associated Press left a message there for Art Washington, who signed some of the loan documents as Divine Seven's CEO.

According to the lawsuit, 1st Source Bank made a written demand for payment Aug. 24, but Vick and Divine Seven have "failed and refused to pay."

The bank has been able to repossess most of the cars, which will limit Vick's financial liability in the lawsuit, said John Griffith, the corporate counsel for 1st Source Bank.

The lawsuit said Vick and the company agreed to their first loans with the bank in January, about three months before authorities began investigating his involvement in a Virginia dogfighting operation.

The Stuff We Find In Cars! - Florida

An Orlando repo man helped Lake County detectives solve a theft at a construction site. It happened at a new development off Hartwood Marsh Road.

When the trunk of the repossessed car was opened, thousands of dollars in stolen goods were found and now investigators say the owner of the car has a lot of explaining to do.

"Once we opened that trunk, that's when we struck gold," said repo man Tony Volta.

Not gold, but brass actually, a trunk stuffed with stolen goods and apparently the tools needed to commit the burglary.

"There was actually a whole bunch of fitting valves, plastic piping, there was a cordless drill, saw and bolt cutters," said Sgt. John Herrell, Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The equipment was taken from the Sandy Lake County construction site. The brass filled valves are lucrative at recycle shops and can bring in quick cash for criminals, just like copper.

"Anything that can be recycled is a hot commodity at this point. It's considered a target. I'm not surprised," Herrell said.

Maybe the only one surprised was Volta. Working on a tip, the repo man found the car up to its tires deep in sand. The car's owner is the only one missing now.

Lake County detectives said Jeffery Van Vorst is a person of interest in the theft. He's the owner of the car and, while he has not been arrested for the, Van Vorst has an extensive criminal history involving drugs, grand theft and trafficking stolen property. Volta calls the crime almost perfect.

"The car was loaded, they were ready to go, but the car at some point got struck in the sand dune and that was it," Volta said.

Representatives from the construction company would not talk on camera but said they do have problems with thefts in Orlando. Detectives said they did make contact with Van Vorst and he claims he let his girlfriend drive the car. She maintains she was out of town when the burglary occurred.