JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A woman could face a felony after Jackson police said she sold her neighbor’s vehicle to a junkyard.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this!” Lequida Sanders said. “I’m confused, but it happened.”
Lequida Sanders said she purchased the 2004 GMC Yukon for Pamela Owen, her daughter.
The ordeal happened Wednesday afternoon. It started like any other day until a maintenance worker at an apartment complex told Owen that a wrecker had just driven away with her SUV.
Owen called her mom.
“I guess her neighbor came out ‘saying this is my vehicle and I’m gonna sell it,’ and that’s what she did!” Sanders exclaimed. “I called them [We Buy Junk Cars], and the lady said, ‘you can get the vehicle back if you pay $275 and a storage fee. I called the owner and asked why they took the vehicle without a title in the first place, and he told me it was legal.”
Interestingly, the owner was accurate.
Mississippi’s law allows anyone to sell a car to a scrap metal dealer without a title if the vehicle is ten years or older. The seller just has to show a driver’s license and sign an affidavit stating that the car is theirs.
It’s exactly what Sanders said ‘We Buy Junk Cars’ did.
“The wrecker took a picture of a woman who signed an affidavit saying this was her vehicle. They paid her $275, and they just took my daughter’s vehicle.”
And JPD Commander Sequerna Banks said it’s not the first time.
“It’s happened in the past where we’ve recovered cars from this location for complainants,” Banks said. “During Christmas time, you have all kinds of weird things happening when people are looking for money. This is not our first time seeing this.”
JPD encourages everyone to try to keep a watchful eye on their vehicles.
“Keep an eye out or have a neighbor or a friend help too,” Banks said. “If they are missing, the first thing you should do is report it to the police.”
Wednesday, Banks said JPD was able to get their family their vehicle without them having to pay for it.
WLBT also spoke with the owner of ‘We Buy Junk Cars,’ who didn’t want to be identified but was helpful with police in resolving the error.
It may be legal to sell a 10-year-old vehicle to a junkyard, but if it’s not your vehicle, JPD says you could face a felony if the individual decides to press charges.
“No doubt we’re pressing charges. We’ve filed a theft report, and JPD has to do an investigation, but she could be charged with auto theft,” Sanders said.
If convicted, state law says an auto theft crime is punishable by a fine and/or up to ten years in jail.
While she’s thankful her daughter is safe and vehicle – found, Sanders still can’t wrap her mind around what happened.
“It is very crazy, my daughter cried a little bit, but then she laughed. I don’t agree with it; you should still have to check for a title.”
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