SANTA ANA : Shoppers Protest Towing of Auto

Unwitting participants in a parking dispute between neighboring businesses, a Santa Ana woman and her husband returned to their car on a recent afternoon only to find that it had been towed.

Now, Marsha Mickey Harnett and her husband Paul are fuming over a $176.50 towing bill to get their car back.

According to Harnett, the trouble began about 3 p.m. Sunday when she and her husband went shopping at the Guitar Center on Main Street in Santa Ana. They parked their car in a lot behind the store.

Harnett said she and her husband were inside the store for about 30 minutes and returned to find their car missing. They reported the car stolen and returned home to find a message on their answering machine from the police saying the car had been towed.

Raul Lopez, general manager for Expedite Towing, which removed the car, said the Santa Ana company had been called by Patsy’s Clothes Closet, which is the legal owner of the parking stall and is located next door to the Guitar Center.

He said the Guitar Center owners are to blame for the incident for failing to inform their patrons that they are not allowed to park in the area.

Luis Garzon, Guitar Center general manager, contends that the couple’s car was parked on his property. He said his patrons’ cars have been towed before due to the disagreement over who owns the parking lot.

“Several times we had people who bought something and come right back and have to get refunds because they have to go get their car out,” he said.

A woman at Patsy’s Clothes Closet, who declined to be identified, refused to comment on the incident.

The Harnetts said the operators were wrong to remove their car.

However, Lopez dismissed their charges.

“I’m a new company. I can’t afford the liability of taking people’s cars off other people’s properties,” Lopez said. “That’s just not done. That’s grand theft auto.”