Two men are facing charges after illegally booting a semi truck and attempting to tow it away as part of a scam gaining prevalence in Memphis.
The two men illegally booted a semi truck at an Exxon on 4840 Holmes in Memphis, Tennessee while the truck driver was inside of the convenience store. When the trucker returned to his truck, he found the boot and the two men, who told him he owed them $256 before they would remove the boot. The trucker agreed to pay the $256, but the two men hooked his truck up to their tow truck anyway and said the price had been raised to $500.
The truck driver then called police, but the two men pushed him to the ground while he was on the phone. Police arrived and arrested both men – Rufus Newson with A1’s Towing and Gary Rhodes with S Line Truck Parking – for theft of property. Newson has also been charged with assault.
The truck driver told officers that he was only inside of the store for 10 minutes, and that truckers were not required to pay for parking if they purchased fuel and food, which he had. Officers assured the trucker that city ordinance requires a boot to remain on a vehicle for 24 hours before it can be towed away.
The most recent incident marks at least the fourth time that a trucker has been targeted with the same scheme in Memphis in the last few months. The other incidents also involved men working with A1 towing, and one even involved a physical altercation complete with guns.
“You know you’ve got crooks everywhere trying to get over on people, and it’s so sad, and I’m glad police arrested them, and I hope they put them all out of business,” said truck driver Henry Foster, who was also at the Exxon that day.
A1 Towing has said they have no comment regarding the situation, reported WREG.