Man arrested for stealing car back from tow lot

A College Station man was arrested in Bryan early Friday after allegedly jumping the fence of AMA towing and driving his vehicle into the tow lot gate in an attempt to retrieve it, according to the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office.

Lesly Matthew Benodin, 26, has been charged with criminal mischief of between $2,500 to $30,000 and a misdemeanor count of trespassing, according to Brazos County Jail records.

At around 1:55 a.m., police said officers responded to a report of an accident in which an allegedly intoxicated man had jumped the fence of a tow lot and crashed his vehicle into the gate.

According to police, the owners of the tow lot shared security camera footage of a suspect climbing the chain-link fence with barbed wire on top, entering a white sedan and driving into the gate in an attempt to leave.

After speaking with property owners, police said they made contact with Benodin who allegedly admitted to being the suspect in the security video. Benodin told police that the tow lot had towed his car and was taking too long to respond.

The property owner estimated the damages to be approximately $5,000, according to police.

Criminal mischief of between $2,500 to $30,000 is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.

Benodin is being held under a $7,000 bond, according to jail records.