Man charged in alleged towing scheme says there's nothing wrong with what he's doing

Two men and a Willard-based company have been charged in connection with what authorities say was a towing scheme run out of a parking lot near downtown Springfield. A representative of the company, however, defended its actions when contacted by the News-Leader on Friday.

Viper Bite Towing and Recovery, along with operators Ronnie Mansker, 38, of Willard, and Jerry Klekamp, 50, of Bolivar, were charged Friday with stealing by deceit and peace disturbance, both misdemeanors. Authorities say company representatives told owners of vehicles with expired tags that they had to pay a $150 fee to avoid their car being towed.

Klekamp, however, told the News-Leader he believes the company's actions were in compliance with city code, and standard practice for the industry locally.

Referring to Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson, Klekamp said: "He needs to be filing charges against every towing company, because every towing company does it."

According to a probable cause statement completed by Springfield police, on at least three occasions, vehicle owners saw Viper Bite Towing hooking up to their vehicles in the parking lot associated with businesses in a shopping center at 401 S. Kimbrough Ave. The center between downtown Springfield and Missouri State University includes popular eateries Qdoba and Firehouse Subs.

In each case, according to the probable cause statement, vehicle owners were told their vehicle was in violation of posted lot requirements because its vehicle registration was expired. The owners were then told that their vehicle could be unhooked from the tow truck for $150.

In a Friday news release, Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson emphasized "that the public should be aware that there is no authority for a vehicle to be towed from a parking lot open to the public solely on expired license plates or state inspections."

In two of the three instances cited in the probable cause statement, both of which took place in December, the owners paid for their vehicles to be unhooked, although one owner negotiated the price down to $80.

In the third case, which took place on Oct. 1, officers responded because a "disturbance ensued" between a vehicle owner and Klekamp, and 911 was called. According to the probable cause statement, Klekamp told a responding officer that Viper Bite Towing had a contract with the lot owner to tow cars for expired plates, as posted on the lot. The vehicle owner ultimately had her car released without paying the $150, according to the statement.

On Tuesday, according to the probable cause statement, a Springfield police corporal spoke with an employee of Morelock Ross, which owns the property. That employee said the company did not have a contract with Viper Bite Towing. The corporal also spoke with Firehouse Subs owner Jason Pullman, who also said there was no contract with the company. On Wednesday, the corporal observed that the sign listing lot requirements was no longer posted.

Reached by the News-Leader Friday, Klekamp said that, about four months ago, the company entered into a verbal agreement with a manager at Firehouse Subs. The manager, whose name Klekamp did not recall, said the eatery had issues with people abandoning vehicles in the parking lot.

"They had a problem with people parking there and leaving it there for a couple days," Klekamp said.

Klekamp said Viper Bite Towing was unaware until this week that Morelock Ross, not Firehouse Subs, owned the parking lot, and that the company took down its signs and stopped monitoring the lot immediately upon being notified of that fact. Klekamp said the lot at 401 S. Kimbrough Ave. was one of a handful of properties that the company patrols for possible towing of vehicles that are abandoned or showing expired tags. Klekamp claimed other local towing companies have similar arrangements.

"Everybody does it," Klekamp said.

Klemamp, who said he is a driver for the company and that Mansker is an owner, claimed what the company was doing is authorized by city code. He said the charge was $150 because that's what the code sets as the maximum that can be charged.

Reached by the News-Leader for clarification, Patterson said city code contains provisions that pertain to the towing of abandoned property, or vehicles that are trespassing — but not to towing on the basis of expired vehicle registration, which is what his office alleges Viper Bite Towing was doing.

Klekamp said Viper Bite Towing never towed any cars from the lot and estimated only three to five people paid to have their vehicles unhooked at the lot over the course of the four months. He said the company sometimes took individuals' circumstances into account and accepted less than the $150 fee, or didn't charge people entirely.

Klekamp said that another lot the company monitors is that of nearby Frank's Uniforms, at 532 E. Walnut St. He criticized Springfield police for failing to make an arrest when, in October or November, a woman "ran over my arm" while Klekamp was trying to hook up her vehicle.

In reference to the charges levied by the prosecutor's office Friday, Klekamp responded: "Our attorney will be taking care of it."