Silvey breaks in to retrieve his own car

A man who broke into an impound yard to repossess his own vehicle will serve three weeks in jail for theft of services.

The defendant, Robert Silvey, was ordered to serve 20 days of an 11-month, 29-day sentence by General Sessions Judge Larry Ross on the charge of theft of services, plus another two days for failure to appear in court on his first court date. Silvey will also have to pay $515 restitution for damage and the cost of his tow bill and car lodging.

It was his arrest for a moving violation which led to the incident in the first place as Silvey was taken into custody by a state trooper at a road block when it was found he was driving on a suspended driver’s license. He was arrested at the roadblock but allowed to leave his vehicle parked in the emergency lane believing it would be picked up in a short while. However, Silvey ended up staying behind bars longer than anticipated, and in the meantime his car was towed.

Upon finding his car had been towed, Silvey went to the impound yard where the towing service had placed his car, broke into the fenced area, and took his car without paying the service fees to the towing company.

Silvey’s actions first resulted in him being charged with burglary since he physically broke into the impound lot. However, he was allowed to plea down to the theft of services charge with the agreement he would make restitution to the towing company.