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Florida man tries to 'steal back' car that was towed away, deputies say

VERO BEACH, Fla. — A Florida man accused a towing company of stealing his car, so he decided to steal it back, according to authorities.

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James Salvatore Rinella, 50, of Vero Beach, was booked into the Indian River County Jail Monday on charges of burglary and felony mischief charge, according to an arrest report filed by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.

Rinella was being held in lieu of $8,500 bail, TCPalm.com reported.

According to an arrest report filed by Indian River County Sheriff’s Cpl. Gary Farless, Rinella hopped a fence Monday afternoon at City Cab Towing in Vero Beach. Deputies responded to a report of a man driving away from the business in a blue Chevrolet Malibu that had crashed through a gate on the property, according to Farless’ report..

Farless wrote in his report that he stopped the vehicle and arrested Rinella, who “kept saying over and over, 'They stole my car so I stole it back.’”

City Cab employees confirmed the car had been towed at 5 a.m. Monday, according to Farless’ report. They also said the damage inflicted by the Malibu crashing through the gate was estimated at $1,100, according to the arrest report.