ATLANTA — An elderly man was arrested after he sawed off two car boots that he believed were unlawfully placed on his car.
Bob Lane, 81, said he had time left on his parking when he was booted more than a year ago.
He was pulled over and arrested last Wednesday. Now he’s battling the booting company along with a theft-by-taking charge.
Lane showed Channel 2’s Cory James the saw that he used to cut off the boots placed on his 1972 Porsche.
“It happened more than a year and a half ago,” Lane said.
But that decision – along with taking the boots with him – landed lane in the Fulton County jail last Wednesday.
“I just don’t go to jail that often,” Lane said.
He said it all started when he paid for two hours of parking at a garage on Krog Street.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Police say this woman stole more than 100 packages from Brookhaven apartment complexes
- Dozens of police respond to shots fired along busy DeKalb road
- Gov’t says 475 caught in immigration raid at GA Hyundai electric vehicle plant were here illegally
He said when he returned to his car, he had time left on the clock.
“Would you unlock it? I’ve got a half hour left on my ticket. Showed her my ticket. Nothing I can do about that,” Lane said.
Right now, a settlement has been reached in a series of class action lawsuits alleging unlawful booting. It involves Empire Parking – the same company that booted Lane’s car.
James spoke with a worker who said there are mistakes people often make.
“He probably selected the wrong location. He could’ve put the wrong tag in, that’s common. So, it just depends on the situation,” Lanes said.
Regardless, attorney Matt Wetherington said not to mess with the boot.
“Call the police,” Wetherington said. “What you cannot do is take the boot off, and if you do take it off, you cannot take it with you, or you will face criminal charges.”
“I did what I had to do,” Lane said. “A man’s got to take care of himself.”
Lane says he paid about $1,300 to bond out after being arrested. He said he is now waiting to see if he’ll have to go to court.
Meantime, we are still waiting to hear back from Empire Parking about his case.
©2025 Cox Media Group
