2 days Ago By Jacob Jaffa
A TOW truck driver has found himself in hot water after the woman whose car he yanked called him out on his fine print. The alleged swindler thought he was in store for a payday but ended up getting more than he bargained for. Tyrone Rutledge, owner of Up N Down Towing in Boston, MA , met his match when he towed the lady's vehicle on November 2.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Rutledge towed the car that evening, claiming that it was improperly registered and uninsured. When the woman confronted him with proof of registration from the Boston Transportation Department, he allegedly claimed that the driver of the tow truck (which he denied was him) had given him incorrect information. He then apparently demanded that the car's owner pay him $300 in cash in order to have it released.
READ MORE MOTORS NEWS At that point the woman called the police and officers were with her when Rutledge returned to the scene. The officers reported seeing Rutledge drive the tow truck back onto the site with a female passenger, before the pair switched seats. They also recognised him from an existing bulletin stating that he had been driving on an expired license and towing illegally.
After Rutledge apparently failed to comply with instructions to get out of the truck, he was arrested while his companion insisted that she was the one who was driving the vehicle. Most read in Motors Her license was, incidentally, later found to also have been expired. Rutledge has now appeared in Boston Municipal Court charged with an attempt to commit a crime, extortion by false report of a crime, witness intimidation and a number plate violation.
Bail was set at $100 and he was ordered to return for a pre-trail hearing on December 11. Additionally, he was fined $100 for driving without a valid license . However, he also appeared before Dedham District Court, where he had previously been handed a suspended sentence for receiving a stolen vehicle.
He was held in custody by that court, with a probation violation hearing set for November 22. Moreover, he has an unrelated firearm case set for trial in February next year..
