Micanopy man arrested for towing and junking car that was left in front of the wrong house

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – James Allen Findley, 58, of Micanopy, was arrested yesterday and charged with grand theft of an automobile and dealing in stolen property after allegedly towing and junking a car that was left parked in front of the wrong house by a towing company.

On September 22, 2022, the owner of the car hired a towing company to move his car to an address on SE 3rd Avenue in Gainesville, but the towing company accidentally left the car in front of a different address. Although the victim knew that the car had been dropped off at the wrong address, he left the car there for several days. A resident of the area called Findley and told him the car had been left there for several days, and Findley picked up the car and towed it to Trademark Metals Recycling, where he junked the car and received a check for $698.

Findley told a Gainesville Police Department officer that the person who lived at the house where the car was left had called the police about it, but they were told that because it was on private property, there was nothing the police could do about it. Findley reportedly said he took that as permission to junk the car. He also said he went around the neighborhood, asking if anyone knew who owned the car, but nobody knew anything about it. He said he gave half the money to the friend who told him about the car.

Findley was also charged with providing a false statement when selling the car because he completed a form stating he owned the car. Formal charges were filed on October 25, and a warrant for Findley’s arrest was issued on October 31. Findley has one felony conviction from 1997 and 12 misdemeanor convictions; Judge David Kreider set bail at $25,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.