Boone County, Ark. man charged for shooting at tow truck drivers

[TowNews]

HARRISON, Ark. (KY3) - A Boone County man is accused of shooting at a pair of tow company employees sent to repossess what was believed to be his girlfriend’s vehicle.

 

Kristopher Woods, 22, of Batavia, was arrested on a felony count of a terroristic act and two felony counts of aggravated assault. Investigators say a deputy with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to D&A Towing to speak with workers after they claimed they were shot at as they left the property.

 

The employees showed the deputy a bullet hole in the tow truck. They told investigators they were contacted by a local car dealership about the vehicle needing to be repossessed at a residence on Fields Lane. Investigators say both victims claim the vehicle owner came outside upon arrival and was compliant with them.

 

“She just said before you drag it onto the truck, it would be better to put it in neutral not to tear the transmission up,” said Taylor Graham, one of the victims. “So I started to ask her for the keys. The other guy came out of the house waving a gun around and pointing it at him.”

 

“I thought let’s just try and get out of here without getting anybody harmed,” said Matthew Mays, the other employee at the scene.

 

“I looked back before I pulled out, and he is messing with a gun. I didn’t know if he was loading it or unloading it,” said Graham. “We started to pull off, and Matthew here is telling me to go faster because the guy was walking out in the road, messing with the gun still. He told me to get down, and I just had to lean down as far as I could to keep from getting hit. Then something hit the back of the truck. We made it to the road and just got out of there.”

 

The two say they’ve dealt with aggravated owners during repossessions but never thought they’d have an encounter like this.

 

“It’s not worth the repossession fee to them to get shot, and before they could get going, the guy starts shooting at them and actually hit their truck pretty close to where the passenger was sitting,” said Boone County Sheriff Tim Roberson. “We employees that work hard and they are in danger every day to try and address these incidents when they happen.

 

Roberson said the assailant initially denied shooting at the truck but did come willingly to authorities. Investigators with the sheriff’s office found a bullet hole in the back of the tow truck approximately an inch away from the back class.

 

“I know some other guys that have had this problem. I’ve talked to other tow truck drivers that say it used to happen all the time; something needs to be done about it,” said Graham.

 

Many tow companies are no longer willing to take the risk.

 

“Different tow companies don’t do repos anymore just because of incidents like this,” said Mays. “Most people may argue a little bit, but you explain to them what you’re there for, and they work with us once they understand what is going on.”

 

Since the incident, D&A towing says they’ve changed their policy, no longer conducting repossessions without a dealership representative.

 

Woods is currently free on a bond of $10,000; no court date has been filed.

 

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