Geek my car off for personal gain while I’m incarcerated? Let’s play role reversal.
I (32M) was with my ex (34F) for four years. We had incredible highs and some pretty bad lows, but I genuinely loved her and believe she loved me too.
During our relationship, I became the most financially successful I’d ever been. Unfortunately, I was also on felony probation and had multiple warrants for failing to report. I knew police were looking for me, so sometimes my girlfriend would pick me up from work and I’d hide in the trunk of her SUV so officers wouldn’t realize I lived with her.
One day, an officer saw her drive by while I was in the trunk. He ran back to his cruiser and pulled her over. They searched the vehicle, found me, and I was arrested. Because it was my third or fourth probation violation, I was sentenced to six months in a community-based corrections facility.
Almost immediately, my girlfriend stopped answering my calls. She scheduled a visit and didn’t show. Eventually, I accepted that our relationship was over and stopped contacting her.
Near the end of my sentence, I convinced my counselor to drive past our old home to see if my car was still there. It was, and I was relieved because that car was basically the one thing I had left to rebuild my life.
About a week after being released, I contacted my ex about getting it. She agreed. I knew she had a new boyfriend, so I didn’t want to show up unannounced or cause drama. I just wanted my car and to move on.
The next day, I had a ride ready and called her. No answer. I waited, called again, texted, and waited some more. Two more days passed. Eventually, after repeatedly calling, she answered.
I asked, “Can I come get my car?”
She replied, almost as if she’d rehearsed it: “Oh, what? I thought you already came and got it. It’s not in the driveway anymore.”
I immediately knew she’d done something with it. My car had been sitting there for over six months, and suddenly it disappeared right when I was released and ready to retrieve it.
I contacted her sister, who was someone I was still on good terms with. She tried to get information from my ex but couldn’t.
That’s when I got angry.
Over the next few days, I created a fake Facebook account with a fake identity and photos. My ex cleaned houses for extra money, so I contacted her pretending to be a potential customer. I even had a roommate record a voice message I’d written so she wouldn’t recognize me.
I eventually convinced her to meet “me” at a house less than a football field from the local police department. She told me what vehicle she was driving and said she’d wait there for me.
Instead, I called the police and claimed to be a concerned citizen reporting a woman using hard drugs in a running vehicle near the house. I specifically said she appeared unconscious and had drugs/paraphernalia around her.
Police arrived within minutes. She resisted when they confronted her, found drugs, and arrested her for felony drug possession and resisting arrest. Her vehicle was towed, and she couldn’t afford to retrieve it after being released.