Upper Merion, PA – 17 June 2021 – An empty-handed confrontational repossession attempt, a gun and a car chase ending in a PIT Maneuver. An employee of Giannone Towing may very well be lucky to be alive after his THIRD REPO ATTEMPT allegedly turned violent with a borrower.
On June 3rd at 7:15 a.m., an unnamed recovery agent arrived at the home of Johnathan Ortiz, 31, with the intent of repossessing a 2018 Dodge Journey. According to police reports, Ortiz emerged from the home shouting that he’d “Called the bank.” Ortiz then, allegedly jumped onto the tow truck bed yelling obscenities until the agent released the vehicle.
According to the arrest affidavit, “As (the victim) drove from the driveway without the vehicle, he saw Ortiz holding what appeared to be a gray colored semiautomatic pistol,”
Upper Merion Police Officer Brendan Dougherty goes on to allege, “As (the victim) observed Ortiz with the firearm, he ducked down in the driver’s seat of his tow truck and began to drive away. As (the victim) drove away he did see Ortiz jogging towards him and to his truck while pointing the firearm at him.”
The court papers go on to allege that Ortiz ran toward the passenger side of the tow truck shouting, “What’s up now, what’s up now?” as he “smacked the gun against the passenger door window,” according to court papers. As the victim called police, a dispatcher heard the victim shout, “gun, gun, gun.”
“(The victim) drove away but quickly observed Ortiz driving next to him on Matsonford Road in the black colored 2018 Dodge Journey, which is the vehicle that he had just attempted to repossess,” Dougherty alleges in his arrest affidavit.
According to the criminal complaint, the unnamed victim then drove onto a grassy area near a cemetery where Ortiz allegedly positioned his vehicle in a manner intended to block the tow truck from escaping.
Dougherty’s report alleges that “(The victim) reported that he was ‘in fear of my life’ so he rammed the front passenger side of Ortiz’s vehicle in an effort to get away,”.
The repossessor managed to make his way back onto Matsonford Road with Ortiz continuing to “give chase” and attempting to get in front of the tow truck to again block the agents escape, police alleged. The recovery agent admitted that while Ortiz was trying to block his tow truck he did tap the rear quarter panel of Ortiz’s vehicle ( a PIT maneuver), which then allegedly caused Ortiz’s vehicle to spin out of control, according to the arrest report.
The agent then found safety with responding officers on Upper Gulph Road.
According to court documents, during the police investigation, a witness advised police that she had observed the confrontation and witnessed Ortiz remove a gun from his vehicle and chase the victim in the tow truck, barefoot and brandishing a pistol along Gulph Lane.
Detectives later arrived with a search warrant for Ortiz’s home which uncovered a .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol, wrapped in a sweatshirt, inside a closet, according to the police report.
Court records indicate that this was not the recovery agents first attempt at recovering this vehicle from Ortiz and that he had tried to repossess Ortiz’s vehicle on two other occasions. Each previous and unsuccessful attempt had allegedly resulted in a confrontation with Ortiz.
After a preliminary hearing before District Court Judge William Maruszczak, Ortiz was ordered to stand trial in Montgomery County Court on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, firearms not to be carried without a license, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and terroristic threats.
Bail was set for Ortiz at $99,000 cash. Ortiz was transferred to county jail awaiting the formal arraignment hearing, after which, an arraignment hearing will be scheduled.
Four police officers and the recovery agent testified during the preliminary hearing.
Assistant District Attorney Tanner Beck advised the court that, “He said he was so afraid for his life that he was afraid he wasn’t going home,” and characterized the impact that the alleged incident had on the recovery agent by stating, “It’s horrible. He had a gun pointed at him. It’s a very traumatic experience that he’s going to have to live with the rest of his life.”
Ortiz did not testify during the preliminary hearing. District Attorney Beck requested the high bail against Ortiz arguing his clear danger to the community.
Source: Pottsmerc.com
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