Stolen Car

[tomscholfield.livejournal.com]

A word of warning, my car was stolen sometime this morning before 6:00AM from Whipple Street, where Highland and Willow intersect.

If anyone has seen a black Hyundai Elantra with Maryland Tags any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Comments

[jennyelfenmass.livejournal.com]

From your driveway? That sucks. Hope you find it soon.

[awkwardduckling.livejournal.com]

are you sure it wasn't just towed for some reason? either way, that sucks in a serious way. sorry!

[ron_newman]

That was my thought too. I assume you've called the police and they've checked their towing database?

[jennyelfenmass.livejournal.com]

Also my thought given the out of state plates.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

I think most cars in Somerville are actually "stolen" by the Somerville PD...

Called The Police

[tomscholfield.livejournal.com]

Yup, called the police and several towing companies in the area.

Re: Called The Police

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Be sure to call Pat's; they're pretty notorious for crap like this.

Re: Called The Police

[sly-salkie.livejournal.com]

I think they have a deal with the cops or something. They were together towing a car on Shea as I was walking to the bike path, talking it over, and gave me a really sketchy look as I approached, and the cop drove away really fast. It was the shadiest exchange. I wish I could describe it better.

Re: Called The Police

[ron_newman]

Yeah, Pat's is the city's official towing company. They are also part-owners of the Somerville News.

Re: Called The Police

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

i've often seen them together because the cops want to put the fat ticket on your car before it gets towed. but usually it just raises ones blood pressure, rather than being shady.

Re: Called The Police

[elements.livejournal.com]

My roommate and I experienced something like that a few months back (her car) and posted about it here:
http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/689797.html

Definitely somewhat shady, esp. since at first the cop supported charging her the fee to not be towed, then supported lowering it to the amount of cash she had on hand, then when we put up a fight finally made a call and suddenly we could go to Pat's Tow to get her money back. Sketchy.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

So sorry to hear it. I hope you get it back.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

ugh, that sucks!! My sympathies.

[lissie930.livejournal.com]

Oh no, that's terrible! :( I hope you get your car back soon!

[aquaflame16.livejournal.com]

My car was stolen off of Broadway about about two years ago. I too assumed it must have been towed for some contrived reason, but nope, it was stolen.
The police dept said at the time that there will always be a record of a towing off of public property (private property i.e. parking lot or whatever is a separate issue) -- partially, I think, because a car can't be towed without being ticketed, so they'll have that in their system.

The police were actually really good about it and managed to get it back really quickly -- the day after I reported it, I think, maybe two days-- they found it in Lawrence, actually. Oh yeah, and the guy that stole it? convicted. in jail AFAIK. (He had all sorts of other charges going on too, though, not just the car.) He technically owes me $500 to cover my insurance deductible on the repairs (not that, realistically, I actually think I'll ever see that money, but it's just nice to know).

Anyway, good luck! I hope they find your car!

[eeyorecol.livejournal.com]

THAT SUCKS

A friend of mine had his car stolen off of Paulina (between Holland and Broadway) in July. When he contacted the Somerville PD (after calling towing companies), he found out that the car had been towed for abandonment in Chelsea, and then sent to the impound lot in East Boston. The thieves took the driver's side door off, so it was then totaled. Apparently, this isn't that unusual; it sounds like there are a group of people who are stealing cars for parts.

[hvanaels.livejournal.com]

I'd recommend that you keep checking with Pat's too. When my old Civic was stolen last year, the Somerville PD recovered it about two days later, but I didn't hear about it until a couple of days after that... when I got the registered letter from Pat's saying that they had my car and I better come claim it and pay up if I didn't want them to sic their collecting agency on me!

Hmm... no one tells me when it's recovered, so Pat's gets to collect an extra couple of days of storage fees? Not suspicious at all. Though to give them some credit, when I complained to SPD, they were very apologetic and assured me I could get reimbursed for those days. In the end insurance paid for the time the car was in the lot, so I never went through with that.

The poor little car itself had been modded (there were decals involved!) and bashed up to the point of being totaled. In my case, I got a great laugh out of how silly the car now looked and an excuse to finally replace it, but I wish you better luck with yours!

[heliopsis.livejournal.com]

Damn, that's awful.

Say, do you go to First Church?

I do indeed

[tomscholfield.livejournal.com]

Go to First Church