The man who has recovered as many as 500 stolen vehicles in Anchorage has another court hearing on April 17. Just prior to his last court date on April 1, he declined to sign a plea that that said he would not look for cars or have contact with criminals, knowingly or unknowingly.
He says that the plea deal offered by prosecutors is impossible for anyone to keep. No one knows when they might have contact with a criminal. If he’s going to help people find their stolen vehicles, he’s going to run into criminals.
For the past 20 months, Hall has been fighting charges that he was driving recklessly while chasing a stolen truck. Hall has a pro bono attorney who is helping him as he fights the reckless endangerment charge and the $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail that could go with it.
Hall and his “A Team” rely on the public to send them tips about stolen vehicles, and he posts the team’s exploits recovering the vehicles on Facebook. He has quite a social media following.
The original plea deal included the promise that he stop “chasing” stolen vehicles. Hall says he doesn’t chase. He follows. He tracks them down. And with the permission of the owner, sometimes he lets the air out of the tires as he calls the owner and the cops to come. If the vehicles is occupied by thieves, he tells them to run, get going, the cops are coming.
As of Tuesday evening, the court calendar lists his appointment as a “change of plea.” But Hall is still in the dark about the outcome, and says he won’t sign anything that stops him from helping people get their vehicles back.
