Police say A1’s Towing vandalized semi truck after booting it

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A California man says his 18-wheeler was vandalized by A1’s towing and Hauling after it was illegally booted at a Lamar Avenue truck stop Monday night, according to a police report.

Sevak Zadori told police an A1’s employee also threw a plastic bag containing human feces at his face, and he was told he would have to pay thousands of dollars to get his big rig released.

He sat in his truck all night to keep it from being towed.

Zadori’s truck hooked up to an A1’s truck at a truck stop in the 3400 block of Lamar. WREG photo

“They’re saying $30,000, and it’s going up. And it’s $900 an hour and counting. This is just ridiculous. I can’t believe this is happening in America,” he said Tuesday.

Zadori said he pulled into the truck stop around 10 p.m. and didn’t see the pay-to-park signs. He said within 20 minutes, someone with A1’s Towing & Hauling had booted the vehicle.

Zadori said he paid for two days of parking, but the employees told him it was too late and began hooking up his vehicle.

“They’ve been opening my doors and coming in and threatening me. I’ve got them on video opening my doors and dismantling my truck all night long,” Zadori said.

MPD said they responded to an assault and vandalism call at the truck stop Tuesday morning.

They said the truck driver told them A1’s Towing employees had taken parts off his truck and tried to get inside his truck, and he was in fear for his life.

Officers said they could not verify whether the person who put the boot on Zadori’s truck had a valid booting license and that one of the tow truck drivers did not have a valid commercial driver’s license.

Police said they also saw an A1’s tow truck driver dismantling Zadori’s truck, making it inoperable.

3400 block of Lamar. WREG photo

“All my truck lines are disconnected. My drive axles everything, my air. They are disconnecting everything,” said Zadori.

An attorney for A1’s said this was “totally disingenuous” and sent WREG a video of Zadori telling an A1’s tow truck driver he had a gun.

“The police was also on scene and said the vehicle is going to be towed. While the police was watching, the driver jumped back in his truck and the police stated it was a civil matter. After the driver said he was not going to pay and was just going to sit in his truck,” said attorney Darrell O’Neal. 

Police were called to the scene multiple times. Zadori said he contacted the mayor’s office and city council members, and A1’s was forced to drop his truck.

“I have to take it to another truck company. I have to find a place to fix my truck,” he said

In November, the Memphis Transportation Commission suspended A1’s Towing and Hauling’s booting and towing permits for 30 days after receiving several complaints from truck drivers who claimed they were illegally booted and towed by A1’s and charged several thousand dollars to get their semi-trucks back.

Complaints made against A1’s Towing & Hauling in 2023

Last month, Deputy City Attorney Michael Fletcher said A1’s had been cited for more violations and was scheduled for another hearing. Fletcher said the State of Tennessee and the U.S. Postal Service were also looking into the activities of the towing company.

State, Postal Service investigating A1’s Towing

“One of the trucks they took was a postal service truck,” said Fletcher. “They’ve subpoenaed information from us, and the state is also looking at it because there are some enforcement arms the state has that we don’t have.”

City council members have asked the permits office to create rules and regulations for tow truck companies that can be posted on the city’s websites to eliminate bad actors in the industry.

Last year, A1’s filed a lawsuit against the City of Memphis, the Memphis Police Chief, and multiple MPD officers, accusing them of “weaponizing a civil municipal ordinance to discriminate against the minority-owned company.”

A Chancery Judge also ordered MPD not to engage in parking or towing disputes on private property. Both cases are still pending in the courts.

A1’s Towing & Hauling is scheduled to go before the city’s transportation commission on Thursday.

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