A Colorado tow truck driver who used his position to steal nearly 50 vehicles has been sentenced to 16 years in prison, closing out what prosecutors described as a calculated criminal operation.
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Targeting Vulnerable Vehicle Owners
According to the 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Brian Chacon targeted older, broken-down vehicles, often belonging to low-income owners who couldn’t afford immediate towing services. He then sold the stolen vehicles to salvage yards, in some cases for as much as $500 each, before owners realized their vehicles were missing.
“Most of these victims were already struggling,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Jake Adkins. “He was preying on people to whom it would cause the most harm.”
How the Scheme Was Uncovered
Chacon’s operation began to unravel after Douglas County sheriff’s deputies spotted one of the stolen vehicles on his tow truck using a license plate-reading camera. Investigators subsequently placed a GPS tracker on the truck, which helped connect Chacon to nearly 50 thefts spanning 2023 and 2024.
A Regulatory Loophole
Adkins explained that Chacon exploited gaps in Public Utilities Commission regulations governing tow truck operators and salvage yards. Under current rules, a tow driver can sign a bill of sale without proving ownership of the vehicle, and salvage yards are only required to verify a vehicle’s VIN once, at the time of purchase. “If those regulations had required a second VIN check before scrapping,” Adkins said, “this defendant would not have been able to steal and crush as many vehicles as he did.”
Impact on Victims
Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly praised investigators for uncovering what he called “a large-scale, calculated criminal operation.” Victims described the experience as both financially and emotionally devastating, with one saying it “put our lives on hold.”
Sentencing
During sentencing, the judge cited greed as Chacon’s primary motive for the scheme. While the 16-year sentence closes one of Colorado’s more unusual vehicle theft cases, it has also raised broader questions about regulatory oversight in an industry that relies heavily on trust and self-reporting.