Belgrade Tow Truck Driver Arrested For Refusing to Return Vehicles

In the aftermath of a tow truck being shot at this past weekend at a Bozeman apartment complex, the owner of the tow truck company has been arrested, charged with refusing to return five vehicles and charging excessive fees for towing.

Jeffrey Nicholas McCown, owner of MCM Towing in Belgrade, was charged with five counts of felony theft.

Sunday, Bozeman police were called to the Hawk's Ridge Condominiums, at 19th & Kagy, after an MCM Towing employee reported that his tow truck had been shot. According to the police report, the tow truck driver was in the process of towing a parked car in the fire lane of the condominium complex. The car was identified as a Chevrolet Cruze, and the car's owner reportedly asked the tow truck driver if he could move the car, but was denied. He also told police that the tow truck driver informed him that he could release the car for $400.

It was about this time that an unidentified person fired a shot into the tow truck's driver-side door. The tow truck then left the scene with the Chevrolet Cruze. The owner of the car says he received an invoice from MCM Towing for $5,103, $4000 of which was for damage to the tow truck.

The court documents site four other instances where MCM towed vehicles from the same apartment complex last weekend and also charged the owners of the vehicles towed for damages that were not fully explained. MCM refused to return the towed vehicles to their owners until the company received full payment.

After further investigation that involved reviewing the tow bills, Bozeman police determined that the towing company was charging fees in addition to the reasonable cost of towing and storing the aforementioned vehicles.

The owner stated that because these people parked in the fire lane, he had to be there to tow them, so it was their fault his tow truck was damaged.