Spirited tow truck operator insists on $177 release fee despite felon drawing a gun and threatening to murder him, court told
A tow truck operator summoned to haul away a car parked in the wrong spot found himself facing a short-tempered driver who threatened to shoot him while pressing a gun to his ribcage, a San Francisco court has been told.
Prosecutors say Ladaris Greer became outraged after seeing his Nissan Rogue about to be towed on the morning of May 21 outside of the Alice Griffith apartments in the city’s Bayview district.
After exchanging words with the operator, Greer got into the passenger seat of his truck, pointed a semi-automatic pistol at him and said he would pull the trigger if his car wasn’t released.
He then directed the victim to drive his truck, with the Nissan still attached, out of the parking lot to a more discreet nearby location. There, while still pointing a gun at the operator, he offered to pay him $80 to release the Nissan – with the courageous operator insisting that the proper fee was $177.
Greer countered with an offer to get even more guns from his car and murder him, at which point the operator relented and promptly released the car.
Later that day, court documents show, Oakland PD spotted the Nissan, performed a car stop, and arrested Greer. A loaded 9mm Glock 26 equipped with a high capacity magazine was found under the driver’s seat.
Greer, 37, has pleaded ‘not guilty’ to a battery of charges including kidnapping.
Remarkably, Greer’s charge sheet features two separate counts of carjacking: one for the tow truck and another for his own car – after San Francisco prosecutors took the uncompromising view that, as it had already been placed on the tow truck, the Nissan was no longer his either.
Greer has convictions for multiple firearms offenses and evading police.
He is perhaps best known for being run down on a San Francisco street by a car driven by the father of a 16-year-old boy he was accused of having just robbed. The pair then shot and seriously wounded Greer, who returned fire with his own gun.
He will appear today at San Francisco’s Hall of Justice for a preliminary hearing. He remains in custody in lieu of $200,000 bail.
The case continues.
This story has been updated.
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