PATRON SAINT OF STOLEN CARS COULD FACE TIME IN THE ‘GREYBAR HOTEL’
Anchorage’s Floyd Hall, who has made a national name for himself by recovering hundreds of stolen vehicles, will go to trial next month and face prosecution for reckless driving.
His case goes back to the summer of 2017 when he was trying to keep pace with a stolen truck and ended up being shot at by its criminal occupants, who were never caught, although the truck was recovered.
Hall, who describes himself as a “hippie biker rocker” and his colleagues known as “The A Team” have a knack for finding stolen vehicles in Anchorage. They know where all the lowlifes hang out, and people trust them with information.
They post their exploits on Facebook, sometimes posting live video of Hall recovering vehicles. With Anchorage crime rates, there’s always plenty for the team to do.
In Anchorage, your chance of becoming a victim of a property crime is one in 18. Anchorage has one of the highest rates of motor vehicle theft in the nation, according to the FBI.
Floyd Hall was charged in August 2017 for what police called a high-speed chase. He says he was just following the stolen truck, and he was not speeding.
The 54-year-old this past month asked prosecutors to change just two sentences of the plea deal — the one in bold below — but they refused.
Now, Hall has chosen to go to trial on May 2, 2019. Unfortunately, his volunteer lawyer has dropped him.
“Josh [Fink] can’t afford to do a trial,” Hall said of his pro bono lawyer. He has been assigned a court-appointed attorney.
The official police report says that on Aug. 31, 2017, police received a report of shots fired from a stolen white 2001 Chevrolet Silverado. The shooters, and presumed car thieves, escaped before police arrived. Witnesses said there was a high speed chase that occurred.
Anchorage police say that its officers have a 90 percent recovery rate for stolen vehicles, although it’s unclear how many of those vehicles are recovered by Hall.
“APD appreciates the community support and involvement when necessary. The community is a vital partner in some of our investigations. However, please allow officers to take the lead on criminal investigations. Our officers have the required training and skills to handle these calls and our number one goal is to keep the public and our officers safe. We want to remind the community not take the law into their own hands, instead, call 911 for emergencies or 907-786-8900 for non-emergencies.”
Hall runs a Facebook group where people post information about their stolen vehicles and he reports on those he finds:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/145416002751804/
