RO Who Took Bat To Tenn. Truck Trial Goes To Jury
A riveted jury studiously took notes as they listened to the case for and against Cathleen Reeves, who used a baseball bat to express her displeasure at a repossession agent who was trying to tow her car in 2018. They watched profanity-laced videos and listened to the witnesses who watched the act unfold. Because of her actions, Ms. Reeves was charged with vandalism and aggravated assault.
Prosecutor Leslie Longshore told the jury in the courtroom of Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz, “On that date, he repossessed Reeves’ vehicle. He located the car, and then went to work. And that’s when Ms. Reeves’ comes out, and she is angry. Angry that her car is being repossessed. She uses a bat to beat the truck and smash the windows, while the man is simply trying to do his job.”
Defense attorney Erinn O’Leary stressed the mindset of her client, who thought she was defending her property from a wrongful repossession. In the eyes of her client, all she saw was a strange man trying to break into her car.
“’My car bill is paid,’ you think to yourself, ‘This is theft,’” said attorney O’Leary. “The laws of Tennessee give us the ability to defend our property. Ms. Reeves did what was immediately necessary to stop him from driving away with her property.”
The man who was attempting to repossess the car said he got the order without knowing anything else about the person whose car he was repossessing, as the company he worked with had a no-contact policy. After getting his order from the company, who got the order from Santander Bank, he found her car in Forest Cove Apartments, where Ms. Reeves lived.
