MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A man is behind bars after he tried to take his towed truck back without paying the fees, police said.
Miami Beach Police arrested bartender Milton Murcia after, detectives said, he attempted to steal his truck after it had been towed.
The runaway pickup occurred on Tuesday at Tremont Towing in Miami Beach.
According to investigators, the 37-year-old suspect entered the tow yard to see how he could get his truck back.
But the calm Murcia was quickly driven mad when he was unable to pay the tow fees and was told he needed additional paperwork to retrieve the truck.
So he took matters into his own hands.
At the window, before the mayhem, Murcia was permitted to enter the tow yard and retrieve his items from the truck.
“Once you’re done grabbing your belongings, you can come this way, and I’ll give you back your ID, OK?” said an employee.
Murcia entered the lot, but as he got into his truck to retrieve his items, he started the engine and attempted to flee the yard lot.
Video shows Murcia crashing his truck against walls, a concrete pillar and metal gates surrounding the tow yard.
“What the [expletive] was that?!” one bystander said.
“Oh my God, bro! Anybody back there, you would’ve squashed them!” said an employee as he watched the footage.
Tow yard employees chased after the truck as they attempted to stop it, but Murcia wanted to find an exit.
He crashed the truck into one of the gates and then quickly turned south. Then he saw that he was blocked by traffic.
Employees quickly dialed 911.
“911, what’s the address of your emergency?” said a dispatcher.
“Tremont Towing,” said an employee.
According to the arrest report, “The defendant was then pulled out of his vehicle by staff members of Tremont Towing and good Samaritans.”
Moments later, Miami Beach Police arrived to arrest Murcia, as employees re-towed the pickup truck back to the tow yard.
Footage shows the truck badly damaged, as well as damage to the business gate that Murcia slammed into.
Tow yard employees said they had recently worked on that gate and unfortunately will have to re-work on the gate after Tuesday’s incident.
But this wasn’t the first wacky night like this at the Tremont tow yard.
Last year, another driver was hellbent on high-tailing out of Tremont.
“He just hit my [tow] truck!” an employee is heard saying.
The irate man needed to be blocked in by tow trucks and eventually held at gunpoint by the SWAT team.
As for Murcia, he appeared in bond court Tuesday morning.
“Good morning, sir. You were arrested for criminal mischief and petty theft,” said Miami-Dade Judge Mindy S. Glazer.
The bartender had his freedom eighty-sixed, and now he’s parked in jail.
Police said he was drunk when he tried to steal back his truck, so they also charged him with DUI.
Jail records show Murcia has posted bail and is expected to bond out sometime on Wednesday.
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