Chicago Police raided a tow yard Wednesday in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood and seized more than 100 cars and construction equipment, nearly a dozen of which were confirmed stolen.
Flatbed trucks began removing vehicles from the gravel lot at 64th and Bell Wednesday night. Police believe at least 10 of the vehicles are stolen. They took the rest to the city's impound lots to run the plates and determine if they were stolen.
News Affairs said a tracking device in one of the stolen vehicles led police to the lot and the execution of a search warrant.
The owner of the lot was arrested, police said, after he could not prove they were legally towed. Suspected of trafficking stolen vehicles and auto parts, the man is being held pending further investigation.
One of the seized vehicles was a tow truck from Pro Towing out of Homer Glen. The owner of that company confirmed the truck was stolen about three weeks ago from Crestwood. He's relieved to have it back but is concerned about the vehicle's condition.
Leroy Ball also believes he is a victim. He said his white Cadillac went missing three days ago.
"I came over here and a man just informed me they did tow a white Cadillac," Ball said. "It's wrong, it's illegal. We didn't ask for it. They should have left it where it was."
The tow yard owner's brother, who gave his name only as Frank, said it's all a misunderstanding and they do have paperwork for the vehicles being confiscated.
He said the car that led police to the lot was towed from an accident scene and the driver gave them permission to tow it. He said the company did not know it was a stolen rental.
