Stolen trailer, police no help need advice

ltrpilot9

ltrpilot9

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2012
I have a very frustrating situation and I am completely out of ideas.

I own a 2017 Kauffman 6 car max car trailer that we lease out. I entered a one year lease with Michael Medley, owner of All Around trucking in Greensboro in November of 2017.

When Medleys lease was up in November of 2018 he was behind on payments about 2K, and I refused to renew the lease with him.

One of his business associates, Devan Washington of Charlotte N.C. Asked me if he could start a new lease on the trailer. I had been in contact with Devan quite a bit over the last year, and I quite foolishly trusted him. I told him he could but first he had to settle the 2K owed by his partner from the original lease and then we would start a new lease agreement.

Devan already had possession of my trailer and immediately paid 500 in good faith. I agreed to let him maintain possession of the trailer. At the time he was operating under the authority of Accurate transport and towing. I don’t believe he is anymore.

Devon made small payments over the next few months but was never able to settle the full 2K, much less the 2500 down payment to start a new contact. On April 1st I told him to return the trailer, all previous debts would be forgiven and we would go our separate ways.

At that point all communication stopped and he disabled the GPS tracker on the trailer. According the the Charlotte police and my lawyer, I can’t report the trailer stolen because we entered a verbal agreement and he did pay me for the trailer. My lawyer also tells me that it will cost between 5-10K to take him to court, and even when I win, all I will have is a judgment which in no way legally obligates him to give me my trailer.

This leaves me very few options. I have hired a Repo company, but they have been unable to locate the trailer as of now. I know he books his loads off of central dispatch, so It’s nearly impossible to set up a shipment to get him to come to me. I have posted wanted posters around high traffic areas offering a 1000 reward for information leading to the recovery of my trailer. Obviously I am extending that offer to anyone here that can help.

I do know where he lives. I also have the address for his mother and father.

This trailer is very expensive, I can’t sleep and it’s killing my business. Any advice, ideas, or assistance is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Mike
 
ltrpilot9 said:
I have a very frustrating situation and I am completely out of ideas.

I own a 2017 Kauffman 6 car max car trailer that we lease out. I entered a one year lease with Michael Medley, owner of All Around trucking in Greensboro in November of 2017.

When Medleys lease was up in November of 2018 he was behind on payments about 2K, and I refused to renew the lease with him.

One of his business associates, Devan Washington of Charlotte N.C. Asked me if he could start a new lease on the trailer. I had been in contact with Devan quite a bit over the last year, and I quite foolishly trusted him. I told him he could but first he had to settle the 2K owed by his partner from the original lease and then we would start a new lease agreement.

Devan already had possession of my trailer and immediately paid 500 in good faith. I agreed to let him maintain possession of the trailer. At the time he was operating under the authority of Accurate transport and towing. I don’t believe he is anymore.

Devon made small payments over the next few months but was never able to settle the full 2K, much less the 2500 down payment to start a new contact. On April 1st I told him to return the trailer, all previous debts would be forgiven and we would go our separate ways.

At that point all communication stopped and he disabled the GPS tracker on the trailer. According the the Charlotte police and my lawyer, I can’t report the trailer stolen because we entered a verbal agreement and he did pay me for the trailer. My lawyer also tells me that it will cost between 5-10K to take him to court, and even when I win, all I will have is a judgment which in no way legally obligates him to give me my trailer.

This leaves me very few options. I have hired a Repo company, but they have been unable to locate the trailer as of now. I know he books his loads off of central dispatch, so It’s nearly impossible to set up a shipment to get him to come to me. I have posted wanted posters around high traffic areas offering a 1000 reward for information leading to the recovery of my trailer. Obviously I am extending that offer to anyone here that can help.

I do know where he lives. I also have the address for his mother and father.

This trailer is very expensive, I can’t sleep and it’s killing my business. Any advice, ideas, or assistance is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Mike
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Damn this sucks! A well placed match always gets the point across.
 
Small claims court is about as good as you are going to get. You can request the trailer back and get back payments and damages. And all can be done without a lawyer, so costs are minimal other than your time.

Also, what was in the lease agreement? That’s going to be a deciding factor as well.
 
tsconver said:
Whose name is on the title? If it is you then it is stolen. Report it.
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this^
the trailer had a gps tracker disarming that or taking it off is an attempt to steal it.
i would call it in to the police don't tell them the whole back story just that its stolen. that trailer is going to go through a weight station at some point and should be caught when they check the tags (which i assume are in your name). you may not be able to get your trailer back right then because i bet he will pitch a fit that its leased and he has a right to use it. find the tracker if its disabled you take that is void of contract, he no longer has right to use trailer. it may end up in an impound lot over all this but at least you know where its at and they cant use it to make money.
 
Oh and id put a lien against any property that is in his name. it may take years but if he ever sells his house you get yours first. i think a lien is only good for 7 or 10 years but you can re-up it after that. Stop being a nice guy, your calling lawyers before doing anything thats being to nice. push this guy. is he driving the truck or an employee, find an employee and call the police say they are hiding stolen property, bet you they will help find your trailer instead of spending time in jail.
 
ltrpilot9 said:
According the the Charlotte police and my lawyer, I can’t report the trailer stolen because we entered a verbal agreement and he did pay me for the trailer. My lawyer also tells me that it will cost between 5-10K to take him to court, and even when I win, all I will have is a judgment which in no way legally obligates him to give me my trailer.
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I'm no lawyer, and I could be dead wrong, but it seems like if the CPD say you have a contract and he's keeping the trailer, making money off it, and not paying you for it then its theft by conversion.

§ 14‑168.1.� Conversion by bailee, lessee, tenant or attorney‑in‑fact.

Every person entrusted with any property as bailee, lessee, tenant or lodger, or with any power of attorney for the sale or transfer thereof, who fraudulently converts the same, or the proceeds thereof, to his own use, or secretes it with a fraudulent intent to convert it to his own use, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

If, however, the value of the property converted or secreted, or the proceeds thereof, is in excess of four hundred dollars ($400.00), every person so converting or secreting it is guilty of a Class H felony. In all cases of doubt the jury shall, in the verdict, fix the value of the property converted or secreted. (1965, c. 1073, s. 5; 1979, c. 468; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1316, s. 13; 1981, c. 63, s.1, c. 179, s. 14; 1993, c. 539, s. 113; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)
 
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If he secretes your trailer with a fraudulent intent, I wouldn't want it back.
 
Now, I don't know if this is the same guy or not, but this story made me :lol:
Victim beaten and dragged by car during robbery

Dude got robbed so he stayed around to see if they'd bring it back. They come back, rob him again and beat him up. :lol:
 
Just another angle. Contact central dispatch. Inform them he is delinquent on his payments and you have a writ of repossession out to recover your trailerS. Explain that you do not want to get into a court battle with them when you repossess your trailer and their cargo and just wanted to give them a heads up.
 
Damn thanks for all the reply’s guys.
#1 I can’t take him to small claims court because the value of the trailer exceeds $10,000. I am probably going to spend the money to take him to district court but it’s
expensive and I really need to focus my finances on getting my trailer back rhinos.

#2 I do have historical data on the GPS. It has spent a lot of time in the 1000 block of N.Trryon road in Charlotte, and friendly ave in Greensboro. Active daily searches in this areas and other common parking areas in both cities have not been successful yet.

#3. I know he was pulling for accurate earlier this year, I don’t think he is now. Hats a huge part of the problem.

I attached a picture of the trailer and the license plate. I have a replacement for that plate.
The VIN is 5VGFE5331HL004567
 

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There is a Devan Washington that is now registered with KINGS & QUEENS TRANSPORT INC. in Charlotte. Looks like it was just registered in March.
His registered address is:
3731 Waterton Leas Ct
Charlotte, NC 28269
 
I forgot to mention, I do not own the trailer outright, it’s financed so I don’t have the title in hand, obviously the registration is in my name. I have had a very hard time hearing that this is not a theft, but according to my lawyer and 3 different police stations, it’s a breach of contract, not theft.

I was aware of the Kings & Queens transport connection, they dumped him after a few weeks but they did provide me with some good information
 
According to the Charlotte PD, Raleigh PR, Greensboro PD and my lawyer, no it’s not.
I spent most of the month of May trying to figure that out. I haven’t yet.
 
Just to add, the Police don't give a Damn, about your property! Or the DAs. Not worth their time or effort. I personally been through it one time, years back. And a friend of mine had his car stolen, by an acquaintance of his. He has the name & addresses of this guy. Thief lives in & out of 2-3 relatives houses. Thief has outstanding warrants, plus the 1 for this stolen car. Been over a year. Police have Never picked the Thief up!
 
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