Tow truck company owner accused of robbing, threatening Tri-Cities drivers. Again
The legal woes for a Pasco business owner have increased after he allegedly ripped money from a man’s grip and then threatened him.
Socorro “Jesse” Spindola-Lopez, the owner of Classic Towing and Recovery, is facing charges of second-degree robbery, death threats and illegally having a gun in connection with the October confrontation on Fourth Avenue.
He allegedly threatened to tow a man’s car unless he paid $350 on the spot. Then he allegedly grabbed more than $400 out of his hand.
When the car’s owner called to get his money back, Spindola-Lopez allegedly claimed that he was an “original gangster” from California and that “he could whack him and his family.”
Spindola-Lopez, 59, already faced accusations of taking contractor vehicles from the Lewis Street overpass project and refusing to hand over a van he towed despite a court order.
He remains out of jail after posted a $50,000 bond for the new allegations.
Spindola-Lopez has been licensed to run his tow truck company since 2020. Washington state records say the license remains active and doesn’t expire until 2025.
Pasco police said in a late November Facebook post that investigators were looking for other people who had problems with Spindola-Lopez.
They pointed out that no vehicles can be towed from a commercial property unless there are signs warning for the possibility.
“Tow companies are required to follow a long list of laws and regulations to ensure theirs and the public’s safety and to maintain accountability,” Pasco police said in the post.
Anyone with information is asked to call the non-emergency dispatch number at 509-628-0333.
Robbery charges
The newest accusations stem from a late October confrontation at 214 S. Fourth Ave. Spindola-Lopez had bought the property about a month earlier, according to county documents.
A man reported he’d parked his car on the property, which didn’t have any signs posted warning that it could be towed.
The car’s owner and a woman soon found themselves confronting Spindola-Lopez and one of his employees while they were trying to tow the car.
Lopez-Spindola demanded that the car’s owner pay $350 or he would need to pay $1,000 to get it out of impound.
The man got $480 out of his car and tried to hand it to the woman to count it, but Spindola-Lopez grabbed it out of his hand then Spindola-Lopez’s employee told them to leave quickly.
The man later told police that Spindola-Lopez stood a foot away during the confrontation, had his fist clenched and looked ready to attack, according to court documents.
A witness from the nearby cafe saw the confrontation, and watched as Spindola-Lopez grabbed the cash, court documents said.
After taking the money, Spindola-Lopez refused to hand over a receipt. He also sent the car’s owner a text message stating that “he is not going to give him the money back and stop calling his shop.”
Spindola-Lopez also allegedly sent a text message where he told the car’s owner that he had the man’s license plate number, and “he could send people who work for him to teach (him) a lesson.”
He also allegedly called the car’s owner from a blocked number and said “not to mess with him” because Spindola-Lopez had gang connections and could have his entire family killed, claim court documents.
When they searched Spindola-Lopez’s office, police allegedly found a loaded .22 caliber pistol and a bag containing what police believed was methamphetamine.
Police said Spindola-Lopez is a convicted felon, and isn’t allowed to have a gun.
Court documents don’t say what his previous felony convictions are.
Stolen van
The new allegations follow charges filed earlier this year alleging that Spindola-Lopez towed and impounded a woman’s van and refused to give it back despite a judge ruling that he needed to release it.
A 46-year-old woman reported in October 2023 that she had loaned her friend her 1999 Honda Odyssey in August 2023, and during that time Spindola-Lopez towed it, court documents said.
At first, he demanded $700 to get the van back. He soon increased that to $1,000. He also increased the price of storing the van from $45 to $85 per day.
When she told him that he couldn’t just increase the price for no reason, his response was that he had the van and he was going to keep and sell it. Then any additional costs would be her responsibility to pay.
He later allegedly demanded that she sign the title of the van over to him.
She took him to court to get the van back, and won her case, but Spindola-Lopez allegedly continued to refuse to hand the van over.
Nearly a month after the initial report to the police, Spindola-Lopez allegedly continued to hold onto the van, even after she threatened to report it stolen.
Pasco police served a search warrant to get the van back. It’s not clear if they ended up finding it.
Lewis Street Extortion
Spindola-Lopez was initially charged in October 2023 after towing a DJ’s Electrical work truck parking in a shopping center on 104 S. Oregon Ave. in September, court documents said.
The truck was parked there while workers did “critical infrastructure work” on underground power lines for the Lewis Street Overpass Project. The project connected Second Avenue and Oregon Avenue with a 625-foot concrete overpass over the BNSF Railway yard and a 70-foot single span structure over First Avenue.
Lopez-Spindola towed the truck away from the parking lot, and charged a $350 towing fee.
Police allege Lopez-Spindola didn’t have permission to pick up vehicles from that parking lot.
In addition, no one had ever complained about the DJ’s Electrical truck. Both of these are required for a tow truck company to impound a vehicle.
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 12:24 PM.