Company accused of illegally towing Aftershock attendees' cars not permitted in Sacramento
A towing company accused of hauling away dozens of cars near Aftershock does not have a city towing permit in Sacramento, officials confirm.
The first weekend of October, on Saturday and Sunday of the Aftershock music festival, drivers parked in a lot on Bercut Drive in Sacramento, near Discovery Park.
When they returned to the parking lot after the festival, their cars had been hauled away. Receipts reviewed by CBS News Sacramento show drivers were charged $562 to retrieve their vehicles.
Once they paid, at an office located on Del Paso Boulevard, they were driven to the unauthorized tow yard -- a dirt lot on Dale Avenue -- to retrieve their vehicles.
Since our initial story aired, dozens of drivers have contacted us with similar stories involving the same towing company: J&B Towing. Documents reviewed by CBS News Sacramento show confirm the name of the company.
We took driver concerns to the City of Sacramento, where a spokesperson confirmed J&B Towing received a business operations tax certificate on October 7, three days after the massive towing operation targeting cars at Aftershock.
Still, the business does not have a city towing permit. The city spokesperson says its code compliance division will coordinate with Sacramento police "as appropriate to determine next steps."
On Friday, we witnessed code compliance visiting the Del Paso Boulevard office location as well as the unauthorized tow yard, a dirt lot, on Dale Avenue. We also witnessed city employees photographing a trailer seen towing vehicles during the Aftershock operation.
Further confirmation that the towing business is not permitted was provided by West Sacramento officials.
J&B Towing has a federal Department of Transportation (DOT) number, which serves as an identifier for transportation businesses. However, that number does not authorize the company to tow vehicles, nor does it replace a required city towing permit.
The DOT listing has a West Sacramento address, but city officials there say there is no business license for J&B Towing at the listed location, or at any other address within the City of West Sacramento.
