Karen Towed My Squad Car — My Chief Arrested Her For Grand Theft Auto…
Karen had my marked police patrol vehicle towed from my own driveway, claiming it was an unauthorized commercial vehicle. But when my police chief arrived and explained she had just stolen a city-owned law enforcement vehicle, she learned that towing a squad car is not an HOA violation. It is felony grand theft auto.
My name is Walter and I am a patrol officer with the Richmond, Virginia Police Department. I have served for 11 years working various shifts and assignments across the city. Like many officers, I take my assigned patrol vehicle home at the end of my shift. It is department policy that allows for faster response during emergencies and increases visible police presence in residential areas.
What Karen did not know when she ordered my squad car towed was that she had just caused the theft of city property clearly marked as a law enforcement vehicle. and that action carries serious criminal penalties. I live in Riverside Gardens, a subdivision built in 2010 on the west side of Richmond. The neighborhood is mixed, families, retirees, working professionals.
The HOA handles basic maintenance and stays mostly uninvolved in daily life. I have lived here for 6 years. My neighbors know I am a police officer and have never complained about my patrol vehicle being parked in my driveway. The car is a marked Richmond police cruiser. White with blue stripes, light bar on top, city seal on the doors, and police clearly visible on multiple surfaces.
It is obviously a police vehicle. There is no mistaking it for anything else. For 6 years, this was never an issue. Then Karen moved in four houses down from me 3 months ago. She had golden blonde hair and immediately began complaining about various aspects of the neighborhood. Too many kids playing outside, dogs barking, people parking boats or work vehicles on their property.Her specific target became my patrol car. Two weeks after she moved in, I found a note on my windshield. Commercial vehicles are not permitted in driveways per HOA rules. Park this vehicle elsewhere. I ignored it. Police patrol vehicles are not commercial vehicles. They are government emergency vehicles. And even if there were restrictions on commercial vehicles, law enforcement vehicles are typically exempted under both HOA rules and state law.
A week later, another note. Final warning. Remove commercial vehicle or it will be towed. I called the HOA property manager, a man named Dennis, to clarify. Dennis, I am getting notes about my patrol car. Is there an issue? Officer Hayes, there is no issue from the HOA perspective. A new resident has been complaining, but we have explained that police vehicles are not subject to commercial vehicle restrictions.
You are fine to continue parking as you have been. Thank you. I appreciate the clarification. I thought that would resolve it. Karen had been told by the HOA that my vehicle was allowed. I assumed she would accept that and move on. I was very wrong. I worked a night shift that ran from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. I came home Thursday morning exhausted and parked my patrol car in my driveway as always.
I went inside, took a shower, and went to sleep. I woke up around 3:00 in the afternoon and looked out my window. My patrol car was gone. I immediately went outside thinking perhaps the department had recalled it for maintenance or reassignment, but there was no note, no notification, nothing indicating [clears throat] the department had taken the vehicle.
I called my sergeant. Sarge, did the department pick up my unit? It is not in my driveway. No, Hayes, your unit should be with you. What happened? It is gone. I parked it this morning after shift and now it is not here. That is a problem. Let me make some calls. Stand by. 5 minutes later, my sergeant called back.
Hayes, your unit was reported towed by Richmond Recovery Towing at 11:30 this morning. They have it at their impound lot on Midlotheian Turnpike. Who authorized the toe? According to their records, an HOA representative requested it for violation of parking rules. I felt my blood pressure rising. My HOA was told by their management company that my vehicle is allowed.
Someone towed a marked police car without authorization. Get down to the impound lot and confirm the vehicle is secure. I am notifying the chief. This is theft of city property. I drove to the impound lot in my personal vehicle. The manager, a heavy set man in his 50s, met me at the gate.
Can I help you? I am Officer Walter Hayes, Richmond PD. You have my patrol vehicle here. It was towed from my residence without authorization. We got a call from an HOA president requesting removal of a commercial vehicle. We executed the tow per the request. Did you verify that the HOA had authority to tow a police vehicle? We do not typically verify HOA authority.
If an HOA calls and requests a tow, we execute it. That vehicle is city property. It is clearly marked as a police car. You towed it without confirming who had authority. Themanager looked uncomfortable. We can release it to you once you pay the towing and storage fees. I am not paying fees for an unauthorized tow of city property.
You will release that vehicle immediately or you will be charged with theft. I need to call my owner. Call whoever you need to call, but that vehicle is leaving this lot right now without any payment. The manager made a phone call, explained the situation, and was apparently told to release the vehicle immediately. He gave me the keys and had a worker drive the patrol car to the gate.
I inspected the vehicle carefully. There were scratches on the front bumper from the tow equipment and minor damage to the undercarriage consistent with improper towing procedures. I documented everything with photos, then drove the vehicle back to my house. I parked it in my driveway and called my sergeant to report the vehicle was recovered with minor damage.
Hayes, the chief wants to see you in his office tomorrow morning at 9:00. Bring all documentation. The next morning, I met with police chief Daniels and Captain Morrison. I provided a detailed account of the unauthorized tow, the notes Karen had left, and the HOA management company’s confirmation that police vehicles were permitted.
Chief Daniels listened carefully, his expression growing increasingly angry. Someone towed a marked police vehicle from an officer’s private residence without authorization. That is theft of city property. Yes, sir. The towing company claims they were called by an HOA president. Who is this HOA president? Karen Stevens.
She lives at 1847 Riverside Gardens Drive. Chief Daniels looked at Captain Morrison. Captain, I want a full investigation. This woman caused the theft of a police vehicle. I want her charged appropriately. Yes, sir. Captain Morrison assigned Detective Lawrence to investigate. Detective Lawrence reviewed the towing company’s records, which showed Karen had called claiming to be the HOA president and stating that a commercial vehicle was parked illegally.
The towing company had not verified her authority or confirmed what type of vehicle they were towing. They had simply executed the tow based on her representation. Detective Lawrence also obtained a statement from Dennis at the HOA management company confirming that Karen had been told police vehicles were exempt from any parking restrictions and that she had no authority to order the vehicle towed.
3 days later, Detective Lawrence and another officer knocked on Karen’s door. I was not present. I was working my regular shift, but I received a full report afterward. Karen answered the door and Detective Lawrence identified himself. Miss Stevens, I am Detective Lawrence with Richmond PD. I need to speak with you about a vehicle tow that occurred on Thursday.
What about it? You ordered the toe of a police patrol vehicle from Officer Hayes residence. Is that correct? I ordered the toe of a commercial vehicle that was violating HOA rules. Were you aware that the vehicle was a marked police car? It was parked in a residential driveway. Commercial vehicles are not allowed.Police vehicles are not commercial vehicles, Mrs. Stevens, they are government emergency vehicles specifically exempted from such restrictions. The HOA rules say commercial vehicles. You were informed by your HOA management company that police vehicles were permitted. You were told you had no authority to have the vehicle towed.
You ordered the tow anyway. I am the HOA president. I have the authority to enforce rules. No, you do not. You caused a city-owned police vehicle to be removed without authorization. That constitutes theft under Virginia law. Karen’s face went pale. Theft? I just had it towed. You caused city property to be taken and held at an impound lot.
The vehicle sustained damage during the unauthorized tow Virginia code section 18.2-95. Theft of property valued over $1,000 is grand lararseny. A police patrol vehicle is worth approximately $40,000. I did not steal anything. I called a towing company. You caused the theft of city property knowing you had no authority to do so. That makes you criminally liable.
Karen was arrested and charged with grand lararseny of city property because the value exceeded $1,000 and the property was a government vehicle. The charge was a felony carrying up to 20 years in prison. Her attorney tried to argue she believed she had HOA authority, but the evidence showed she had been explicitly told by the HOA management company that she had no such authority and that police vehicles were exempt. The prosecutor was aggressive.
Miss Stevens knowingly ordered the theft of a city police vehicle after being told she had no authority to do so. She caused damage to that vehicle and interfered with a police officer’s ability to perform his duties. This was intentional, not a mistake. Karen eventually took a plea deal. She plead guilty to a reduced charge of unauthorized use of property and wassentenced to 12 months in jail with 6 months suspended, 2 years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay restitution of $2,500 for the vehicle damage and towing costs
incurred by the city. She was also required to pay a fine of $5,000 and perform 200 hours of community service. The HOA board removed her as president immediately after her arrest. They issued a formal apology to me and to the police department, clarifying that Karen had acted without authority and against explicit instructions from HOA management.
A retired firefighter named Thomas was elected as the new board president. He came by my house personally to apologize. Officer Hayes, I am deeply sorry for what happened. Karen was completely out of line. The board fully supports law enforcement officers parking their vehicles at their residences. I appreciate that. Thomas Karen served four months of her sentence and was released on probation.
She put her house on the market immediately and moved out of Richmond entirely. I heard she relocated to North Carolina. The incident became wellknown within the Richmond Police Department. Several officers mentioned that they had heard about it and expressed support. My chief used it as an example during a community meeting about respecting law enforcement and understanding that patrol vehicles parked in neighborhoods are there to enhance public safety.
The towing company was also investigated. While they were not charged criminally, the city removed them from the approved towing rotation for 6 months as a penalty for failing to verify authority before towing a clearly marked police vehicle. I still live in Riverside Gardens and still park my patrol car in my driveway every day.
The new neighbors who bought Karen’s house introduced themselves shortly after moving in. The husband is a retired Navy veteran who told me he appreciates having a police officer in the neighborhood. Several neighbors have thanked me for my service and mentioned they feel safer knowing there is a marked police car visible in the neighborhood regularly.
