A Lehigh Acres man is facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after deputies said he pulled a pistol on a repossession driver, climbed aboard the tow truck to stop the job, and fired a shot as the vehicle pulled away. Brandon Kolz was arrested Tuesday following the confrontation, which deputies say began around midnight outside a home on 11th Street Southwest.
According to wfla.com, the repossession driver told deputies that Kolz came outside armed with a pistol and asked him, “Do you want to die?” From there, investigators said Kolz got into one of the vehicles while it was already loaded on the tow truck and demanded that the driver put it back down. As reported by FOX 13 Tampa Bay, the Florida man had allegedly threatened the repo driver and pointed a gun at him before the situation escalated further.
Fearing for his life, the tow truck driver released the vehicle, and deputies said Kolz fired one round as the driver pulled away with the other car in tow. No injuries were reported in the incident. Investigators later recovered a gun from Kolz's vehicle and determined he knew he was behind on his car payments, the same report notes.
Charges Filed in Lee County
Deputies charged Kolz with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following the confrontation, per the same account. The case adds to a string of similar incidents reported across Florida this year involving armed confrontations between vehicle owners and repossession crews.
In July, police in Miami Gardens said Lawrence Hilbert Morant chased a repossession agent and fired multiple rounds at the agent's tow truck, according to local10.com. Investigators in that case said Morant pulled out a handgun and intentionally fired numerous rounds toward the occupied tow truck. A separate Miramar case detailed by Local 10 described a man named Williams allegedly pointing guns at two different repo crews within five days and firing a shot into one tow truck after telling a driver to put my car down.
Pattern Seen Beyond Florida
The threat of violence against repossession workers isn't limited to Florida. In McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, police arrested a man accused of shooting at a repossession agent, with investigators saying he fired at the agent and struck the vehicle three times as the agent fled, according to wpxi.com. That suspect, identified as Terry, now faces both federal and state charges.
Another comparable case surfaced in Michigan, where the Record-Eagle reported that a 48-year-old Mayfield Township man could face firearm, assault and drug charges after police said he pointed a gun at a repossession agent. Taken together, the cases point to a recurring flashpoint in vehicle-repossession disputes, where confrontations between owners and repo crews have repeatedly turned into gunfire.
In Lehigh Acres, no injuries were reported from the encounter on 11th Street Southwest, and the repossessed vehicle was ultimately driven away after the tow truck driver released it out of fear for his safety.
