Stealing Cars Gets Lakeville Tow Driver 180-Days in Jail

A scheme to sell stolen cars to a St. Paul metal scrapper has landed a man a 180-day jail sentence in Ramsey County Court.

Matthew Bruce Williams, 29, was sentenced on May 31, and in addition to jail, was ordered to pay nearly $23,000 in restitution for his role in the theft of 14 vehicles that were sold a St. Paul business called Metro Metals.

The criminal complaint alleges that in May and June of 2011, Williams purchased the stolen cars from an accomplice named Lionel Warner, and then towed the cars to Metro Metals where they were sold for scrap at a few hundred dollars per car.

All told, Williams was convicted of 29 felony counts.

According to a story in the Pioneer Press, in most cases, the cars were taken from victims in low-income, working-class residents of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Vehicles were also taken from parking lots of repair shops when the shops were not open, the report says.

The Pioneer Press also reported that "Williams tearfully asked Ramsey County District Court Judge George Stephenson for leniency, saying he cooperated with police and sold his tow truck to help pay back his victims."