Marion man accused of unlawfully towing vehicles from Interstate 95

Taylor Ford
·2 min read
14

DILLON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A Marion man has been accused of unlawfully towing vehicles from along Interstate 96, according to the Dillon County Sheriff’s Office.

Christopher A Lester, 30, was charged with two counts of grand larceny, third-offense driving under suspension, operating an uninsured vehicle and failure to register.

Deputies received a report on Dec. 21 that a silver 2007 Toyota Corolla with North Carolina plates had been stolen on northbound I-95 near the 189 mile-marker.

During the investigation, it was learned that the vehicle had been tagged by the South Carolina Highway Patrol on Dec. 10 to alert the owner that it needed to be moved. Deputies contacted the SCHP and learned the agency had not towed the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies received another report on Jan. 3 about a blue BMW 328I with North Carolina plates that had been stolen from I-95 south between the 177 and 178 mile-markers.

The owner told deputies that it had had mechanical issues and when he returned to check on the car it had a 24-hour-notice sticker on it. He told deputies he assumed that the SCHP had placed the sticker on the vehicle.

He told deputies that he went to get help to tow the vehicle but when he returned it was gone. The SCHP was contacted and it was learned that the agency had not towed the vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.

As the investigation continued, detectives found out that a red tow truck had been unlawfully towing vehicles from the interstate, and on Tuesday, a detective traveling east on Highway 9 in the Riverdale community saw it and pulled it over because it did not have license plate lights, the sheriff’s office said.

Lester was identified as the driver, and the stolen vehicles were later recovered, the sheriff’s office said.

Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13’s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylor’s work here.

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