Repo Man Shot by Gang in Chicago – Gangs Getting into The Tow Business

Chicago, IL – 27 May 2018 – Late Tuesday night the 22^nd of May, a 30 year old Repossession Agent was shot in the leg, by a member or members of the notorious Latino street gangs, “The Latin Kings” or “Satan’s Disciples”, during a non-repossession related incident that appears to be a situation of being in the wrong place at the wrong time while driving a tow truck.

As serious as this is by itself, it reveals a new trend in gang activity that is creating an even more dangerous environment and threat to repossessors in this already crime ridden area.

The incident occurred at the 5000 block of South Talman Avenue in the Gage Park neighborhood of southwest Chicago, where the agent, who was on his way to a nearby assignment address when a vehicle pulled over alongside him, two men jumped out of it and opened fire.

It is reported by our source that 18 rounds were fired at the truck, which was struck 9 times. One round penetrated the truck and hit the unnamed repossession agent in the leg.

The 30-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.  

According to sources, police immediately suspected the shooting was the result of an evolving business practice by one of the notorious Chicago Latino street gangs, whos wear the same colors (black and yellow), “The Latin Kings” or “Satan’s Disciples”, who have become active in the tow business and routinely cruise the streets of Chicago engaged in the act of “Accident Chasing” where they aggressively patrol the streets looking for accidents to tow away and then charge outrageous towing and storage bills on.

Police suspect that the injured repossession agent was mistaken for a rival gang member’s “Accident Chasing” tow operation and that by him merely driving a tow truck in the vicinity, he was mistaken for a rival gang.

Gang activity in repossessions is nothing new internationally. In Indonesia, street gangs are notorious for offering protection to borrowers from repossession. Gang protection signs are paced in the windows of vehicles by borrowers who pay for them. Repossession agents who attempt to repossess them, if caught, are shot or beaten.

This apparently new development in Chicago begs the question of whether or not the rise and spread of this type of operation by other gangs or offshoots of these gangs have or will spread to other areas of the nation and creates a disturbing precedence of gangs becoming engaged in otherwise legal activity and using their reputations for violence to intimidate and threaten their competition. Of course, this is Chicago, where large shooting numbers in recent years have gone unchecked and the violent crime rate was a reported 1,106 per 100,000 people in 2016.

This incident illustrates both the indirect risks inherent to the repossession industry in gang related areas as well as the disparity in fees allowed by large banks and forwarding companies who demand flat rates on repossessions regardless of territories where costs of operations and risks are not taken into account as well as operating in some of the nation’s most dangerous cities and neighborhoods.

Keep in mind, the agent wasn’t even repossessing a vehicle and was merely driving through Chicago. The $325 contingent repossession fee he was heading to in this crime ridden neighborhood is clearly not worth the same as it would be if he were in a more civilized area of the country. 

The agent and agency collaborated this story and wish to remain anonymous for obvious reasons of insurance and negative client publicity.