Colorado RO Arrested After Driving Off Lift
A 32-year-old man was arrested earlier this month after police say he jumped inside a truck as it was being repossessed and tried driving off outside an Evans motel.
About 7:15 a.m. July 10, Evans police responded to a disturbance at the Rodeway Inn, 3015 8th Ave., in Evans. On arrival, police saw a black 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 with North Dakota plates with its front driver side tire on the sidewalk, about 1 foot away from the front door of a motel room. The room was occupied, police later learned.
The Ram 1500 was still attached to a white 2014 Dodge Ram 3500 by a chain. Two retention straps had snapped, and the tow truck’s hook was lowered.
The driver of the Ram 1500, identified by police as Joseph Storment, 32, initially refused to leave the truck when asked by police. He eventually complied and spoke with police.
Storment told police he heard his car alarm go off and ran outside. He saw his truck was being repossessed, and he jumped inside, put it in four-wheel drive and accelerated, according to an affidavit for his arrest. He later said the truck wasn’t attached to the tow truck before he got in.
Storment told police he knew he was a couple months behind on payments, but denied receiving notice the truck was up for repossession, the affidavit states. After he accelerated, Storment told police, the tow truck driver also tried accelerating.
Skid marks from the incident did not match Storment’s story. They instead suggested the tow truck driver did not accelerate as the truck was dragged by Storment, according to police.
Storment also told police the repo workers were fist fighting with him and that they tried to grab him.
The owner of the repossession agency told police they had the truck hooked up when it was turned on and off again using remote start. Storment then jumped inside the truck and tried driving it while it was still attached, the man told police.
The occupants of the motel room told police they were concerned the Ram 1500 would come crashing through the wall of the motel.
Police estimated the damages caused by Storment attempting to drive the attached truck totaled about $4,160. He was arrested on suspicion of four counts of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, and one count of criminal mischief, a Class 6 felony.
The Weld District Attorney’s Office has until 3:30 p.m. today to file formal charges against Storment in this case.
