Evans, CO – 21 July 2020 – Evans police responded to a reported disturbance during a repossession at the Rodeway Inn, in Evans, Colorado. On arrival, officers found a black 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 with North Dakota plates driven up on the sidewalk about one foot away from the front door of an occupied motel room.
32-year-old Joseph Storment was arrested earlier this month allegedly jumping inside his truck and attempting to drive it off the wheel lift outside the Evans motel.
When officers arrived, they found Storment’s Ram 1500 still attached to the repossession companies white 2014 Dodge Ram 3500 by only a chain. The two retention straps had snapped, and the truck’s lift was lowered.
Storment, initially refused to leave the truck when ordered by police, but eventually complied.
According to an affidavit for Storment’s arrest, he claimed that he heard his car alarm go off and ran outside to discover his truck in the process of being repossessed. Jumping inside, he put it in four-wheel drive and accelerated. He later claimed that the truck wasn’t attached to the tow truck before he got in.
After he accelerated, Storment claimed that the driver of the tow truck also tried accelerating.
Police didn’t buy his story as the skid marks from the incident did not match Storment’s story. They instead suggested that the tow truck driver did not accelerate and that the tow truck was actually dragged by Storment.
Storment claimed to the reporting officers that the recovery agents threw fists at him and had tried to grab him.
The repossession agency owner reported to police that they had the truck lifted and secured when Storment started the ignition by remote control before jumping inside the truck and trying to flee while still attached to the tow truck.
In the affidavit, Storment admitted to police that he knew he was a couple months behind on payments, but denied having received notification that the truck was out for repossession.
The occupants of the motel room in front of the incident reported to police that they were concerned that the Ram 1500 would come crashing through the wall of the motel at them.
According to police, the estimated damage caused by Storment attempting to drive the attached truck totaled an estimated $4,160.
Storment was arrested on suspicion of four counts of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, and one count of criminal mischief, a Class 6 felony.
The Weld District Attorney’s Office has until 3:30 p.m. today to file formal charges against Storment in this case.
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