Police Were Going To Auction Off Crime Victim’s Car Instead Of Returning It

Mary and Clyde Antrim’s Ford Crown Victoria was stolen on June 1 of this year in Pueblo, Colorado. Once recovered, instead of returning the car to Mary, who says she needs it to get to doctors appointments, the police were going to auction it off to make money off the backs of the elderly victims of theft.

Being the victim of theft is hard enough. But what happens when you trust the cops to return your stolen property once they recover it? Nothing. They planned to make money by auctioning off someone else’s stolen property. Two wrongs make a right when it comes to agents of the government. As if the police state isn’t already bad enough.

“I need my car for my doctor’s appointments that I have to go to,” Mary said. “That’s my transportation and I’m 80 years old and I’d like to have my car back so I can do what I have to do.” Colorado Springs police have nothing to say on camera about this case (And why would they? They were just doing their job, right?), but Mary is talking after she says police would not give her car back or answer her phone calls.

The car was later recovered 45 miles away from Mary’s home in Colorado Springs following an aggravated robbery at Dillard’s on Briargate Blvd. “They (police) told me it was involved in a robbery and that it was being held for evidence and that’s all I was told,” Mary said about the conversation with police on June 5.

When she found out her car was going to be sold at auction, she called News 5 Investigates for help.

Mary happened to log in to her computer on July 10th and noticed her car was up on a police auction website, and with nowhere else to turn, she asked for help. “I’ve called them (police) every week to find out where the car is at and what’s going on with the car. No one has called me back,” Mary said. “I was dumbfounded. I thought ‘how in the world can the car go from being on hold for evidence and now it’s on hand and being ready to go to auction?’ I couldn’t believe that.”

The team of investigators put together a timeline of events that has left Mary scrambling and struggling since the original theft of her car.

June 1: Vehicle stolen from Pueblo and used during a robbery

June 5: Colorado Springs police informed Mrs. Antrim her car was impounded and “on hold” pending further investigation

July 7: Mrs. Antrim’s vehicle was ready for pick-up and according to Colorado Springs police, a letter was sent to Mrs. Antrim stating “her vehicle was at the CSPD Impound Lot and charges have accumulated as a result of being impounded. The letter advised that if the vehicle was not claimed, it would be sold on 9/11/17”.

While Colorado Springs police claimed they sent Mrs. Antrim that letter on July 7th, it was not postmarked until July 11th, the same day the investigative team contacted police about Antrim’s case. “The mail is sent out and picked up daily from the Impound Lot and from the police department,” Sgt. John Garza said via email. But the investigators still want to know why the letter was postmarked 5 days later then…the day they called the impound lot. Police have not provided an answer.

In addition to the timeline discrepancy provided by Colorado Springs police, News 5 Investigates also discovered the department appeared to violate its own policy regarding impounded vehicles. “It is the policy of the Colorado Springs Police Department that victims of crimes whose vehicles are towed as part of the criminal investigation will not be charged tow/impound storage fees while at the Impound facility,” Sgt. Garza wrote via email.

Yet it was discovered that the police department wanted to charge Mary $178 to get her car back. The team of investigators went to the Impound Lot to verify Mary’s car would be released to her without any problems. They confirmed her vehicle was released for free, but that wouldn’t have been the case had investigators not been involved.

Antrim says police have not apologized for what happened but had advised her they were “looking into it”. Based on the comments on the Facebook post made by News 5 Investigates, this is not an isolated incident in Colorado Springs either.