"Leave me alone!" Tow truck driver refuses to talk about questionable towing agreement

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- He's back! He's a sketchy tow truck driver with a nasty temper. And he's still taking advantage of a new state law that cuts police out of the towing process.

When FOX6 News first exposed this problem back in February, West Milwaukee police ordered the towing company at the center of the story to close up shop. So they did. A few days later, they were back in business in the city of Milwaukee. And, apparently, up to the same old tricks.

In February, the FOX6 Investigators caught Shaun Brayden and the company he operates towing people's cars under questionable circumstances and charging more than state regulations allow. But at least back then, he agreed to sit down and talk about it.

"And apologized for being mean to you and hanging up the phone and stuff," Brayden said.

Three months later, his appearance has changed (he shaved what had been a full beard), but his behavior is all too familiar. When the FOX6 Investigators tried to ask him a few questions on his way out of a small claims court hearing, he immediately became agitated.

"If you would just answer these questions honestly, this would be easy and it would be over," said FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn.

Brayden's response? A profanity laced tirade.

"This is not the image that we want to portray," said Dan Johnson, President of the Wisconsin Towing Association.

Jerome Hollis and his girlfriend, Courtney, called the FOX 6 Investigators to a nondescript industrial lot on Milwaukee's north side where Cars, Inc. towed their car on March 9, 2015.

If there's one thing Johnson would like you to remember, it's this: Shaun Brayden is not a member of the WTA. And neither is the company he operates -- Cars, Inc.

"If someone like this is going off rogue on their own, that's certainly not the type of individual that would be reflective of our association," Johnson said.

In fact, Johnson says, it wasn't the towing industry that asked for the change in state law Cars, Inc. seems to be exploiting. It was property owners.

"They just want a vehicle taken off their property," Johnson said.

It used to be that police had to ticket a car before it could be towed from private property. But a new law that took effect last summer cuts police out of the process. That makes it easier for landlords to deal with nuisance vehicles. But it also gives towing companies virtually unchecked authority to tow cars, especially if they have a standing contract to patrol a particular parking lot.

When Jerome Hollis discover that his car had been towed from O'Reilly Auto Parts at 35th and Fond du Lac, he asked the store manager to write a note, verifying that he had permission to park there. Cars, Inc. was not swayed by the note.

Consider what happened to Jerome Hollis and his girlfriend, Courtney.

"We have a letter saying that it was okay for us to park the car until we could get it up and moving," Courtney said.

In March, Hollis was driving near 35th and Fond Du Lac when his car broke down. He pushed it into the O'Reilly Auto Parts parking lot and asked if he could leave it there overnight, since the part he needed wasn't in.

"I talked to the manager at O`Reilly's to ask him can I leave my car there? He said, 'yeah, cool,'" Hollis said.

An employee named Kevin Young promised to leave a note on the car, so it wouldn't get towed.

"I'll just write you a note saying that, you know, 'don't touch this car' or whatever," Hollis recalled the worker saying.

This agreement, which remains on file with the city of Milwaukee, appears to give Cars, Inc. permission to tow unauthorized vehicles from the property that includes O'Reilly Auto Parts.

Apparently, Kevin forgot to put the note on the car. And Cars, Inc. towed it away. The next morning, Hollis showed Brayden the permission letter Kevin had written for him. Brayden wasn't swayed. He wanted $311 to release Hollis' car.

"Do we stand here all night or do we cause trouble to get police involved?" Courtney asked.

When Courtney tried calling the police, they told her it was a civil matter.

"It's like the only way to get the police down here to get some help is to act crazy," she said.

Instead she called the FOX6 Investigators. And 15 minutes later, police showed up, too. Brayden told officers that "Kevin" had no authority to let someone park at O'Reilly overnight, because Cars, Inc. has a contract with the property owner to tow unauthorized vehicles from the lot. He showed police an agreement that remains on file with the city of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services. That agreement is signed by none other than Kevin Young.

That's right, the very same Kevin who told Hollis he could leave the car overnight. Turns out, Kevin isn't even the store manager. He had no authority to sign any contract with Cars, Inc. The real manager of O'Reilly says he never hired Cars, Inc. to tow cars from the parking lot. And the owner of the property tells FOX6 he never hired them either.

According to the signatures on both documents, it appears the "Kevin" who gave Hollis permission to park on the lot is the same "Kevin" who gave Cars, Inc. permission to tow them.

So why is there still a sign in the window that says Cars, Inc. monitors this lot?

"Could you answer that?' Polcyn asked Brayden on his way out of court. Instead of answering, Brayden turned to a Sheriff's deputy standing nearby to complain.

"I can't even get on the elevator," he said.

Johnson says the old way of doing things left far less room for dispute.

'With a citation, that clears up all the ambiguity. And I think that's something our members would prefer," Johnson said.

But the law isn't likely to change anytime soon. In the meantime, the Milwaukee Common Council may soon decide if tow truck operators should be licensed and inspected. Johnson says WTA is open to talking with the city of Milwaukee. He just wants to be sure they're not overreacting.

"If they're trying to, you know, swat a fly with a shotgun, that probably doesn't serve any true purpose,"Johnson said.

Jerome Hollis and Courtney just hope they never have to deal with this ill-tempered tow truck driver again.

It's not just customers who get towed from the O'Reilly Auto Parts lot. The current store manager tells FOX6 that one of his own employees got towed recently, just after 10:00 p.m. while he was still inside closing up the business. The manager FOX6's Bryan Polcyn spoke to said he has no idea who hired Cars, Inc. but he sure didn't. And he promised to investigate further with his district office. Meanwhile, there is still a sign in the window that warns drivers unauthorized vehicles will be towed by Cars, Inc.