Stolen Car Recovered, Lost Again

For a few minutes, Bryan Venegas savored his unlikely good fortune: He had found his stepfather’s stolen 1986 Toyota 4-Runner.

Two days after the vehicle disappeared from his Silver Lake house Oct. 14, Venegas saw it parked a mile away. He drove it home and phoned his stepfather, who called police.

That is when his good luck soured.

Los Angeles police officers refused to wait for the arrival of his stepfather and called a towing service to seize the Toyota. When Venegas and his stepfather, Ben Inez, arrived at an impound yard, they had to pay $121.50 to retrieve the truck.

“I just felt like this was absolutely ridiculous. The truck was stolen, then I find the truck. Then I have to pay to get the truck out even though I found it,” Venegas said.

If police had found the vehicle, the family wouldn’t mind paying the fee, said Venegas’ mother, Corinne Inez. But instead of waiting for her husband to arrive after Venegas found the 1986 Toyota, they had it towed. Frustrated and upset, she wrote letters to the Los Angeles Police Department and lawmakers.

On Monday, police tried to set things right, agreeing to reimburse the family for the impound fees. The department will also investigate how the situation was handled.

Venegas, 31, who works as a set decorator for a television series, said his own car had been rear-ended, so his parents, who live in Mission Hills, lent him the Toyota.

When he saw the stolen vehicle, he thought it wise to retrieve it.

Venegas said that although his driver’s license lists the same address as his parents, police required his stepfather to claim the vehicle.

“They spoke to my father. He said: ‘I’m jumping in my car, there’s no reason to impound it,’ ” Venegas said. “They said, ‘We can’t wait.’ And my father said, ‘I’ll be there in 20 minutes.’ ”

In fact, Ben Inez drove up in time to see the tow truck head out with the Toyota, Corinne Inez said.

Sgt. Robert Arcos of the LAPD’s Northeast Division said owners who find their own stolen vehicles should “call police and not take the car.” Officers need to file a report, note the odometer and check for fingerprints, he said.

Police Department policy requires that stolen cars be released to registered owners unless there is verbal or written notification to turn over the vehicle to another person, he said. “He had a little bit of a drive from the Valley and we probably should have made a little more concession to wait for him,” he said.

Corinne Inez said she complained over principle, not money.

“I think of elderly people who can’t afford to get their car towed,” she said.