Two Santa Cruz County residents arrested after stealing own car from tow yard
UPDATE 07/03/18 6:40 p.m. Two people have been arrested for stealing their own car out of a tow yard, now they’re facing felony charges.
The car was towed out of the Boardwalk Bowl Parking Lot by Santa Cruz-Aptos Auto Towing and brought to their storage yard off of Winkle Avenue in Soquel.
The suspects, now identified as Brianna Geary and Andrew Gullman, called the tow company to discuss picking up the car after it had been towed.
Sometime between 11 p.m Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday the two are suspected of breaking into the tow yard and stealing the car.
Owner of Santa Cruz-Aptos Auto Towing, Mark Brownell says, “when the driver came at two in the morning at the end of his shift, the gates were all torn open and the car was gone.”
The tow company called the Sheriff’s Office and detectives were able to trace the earlier call to one of the suspects homes.
Sgt. Brian Cleveland with Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office says, “We were able to track the phone number back to Brianna Geary who lived in Freedom, our deputies were able to go to her house and actually find the car that had been taken there. During the course of their investigation they were able to interview Andrew Gullman and Brianna Geary about their involvement and both ended up confessing to entering the tow yard to get their car back.”
Geary and Gullman are now facing several charges including vehicle theft, conspiracy, burglary and vandalism.
Brownell says he understands when drivers are frustrated, but often times they take it out on the tow company, “I understand why they’re angry, we didn’t cause this situation, we just provide the service that remedies it for the land owner.”
Brownell also says what it comes down to is lack of parking in popular spots in Santa Cruz, like the downtown area. “”it’s super frustrating to go downtown and have no where to park and the lots are all full, yet you have to respect peoples rights, private property is private property.”
To pick up your car from a tow lot in Santa Cruz usually costs about $400 dollars and can go up from there.
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Two people have been arrested for stealing their own car out of a tow yard, now they’re facing felony charges.
The car was towed out of the Boardwalk Bowl Parking Lot by Santa Cruz-Aptos Auto Towing and brought to their storage yard off of Winkle Avenue in Soquel.
The suspects, now identified as Brianna Geary and Andrew Gullman, called the tow company to discuss picking up the car after it had been towed.
Sometime between 11 p.m Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday the two are suspected of breaking into the tow yard and stealing the car.
The tow company called the Sheriff’s Office and detectives were able to trace the earlier call to one of the suspects homes.
Sgt. Brian Cleveland with Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office says, “We were able to track the phone number back to Brianna Geary who lived in Freedom, our deputies were able to go to her house and actually find the car that had been taken there. During the course of their investigation they were able to interview Andrew Gullman and Brianna Geary about their involvement and both ended up confessing to entering the tow yard to get their car back.”
Geary and Gullman are now facing several charges including vehicle theft, conspiracy, burglary and vandalism.
The tow company owner, Mark Brownell, says he understands when drivers are frustrated, but often times they take it out on the tow company, “I understand why they’re angry, we didn’t cause this situation, we just provide the service that remedies it for the land owner.”
KION’s Ashley Keehn will have more at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
