CrimeBeat: Why was the abandoned RV by Spring Lake in Santa Rosa left for months?

There has been a rundown RV parked on Montgomery Drive by Spring Lake for months; why hasn’t it been towed away?

Ellen, Santa Rosa

The inoperable RV that had blighted Montgomery Drive at Channel Drive since September was finally towed away Tuesday, two days after being torched in a suspected arson.

It typically takes 24 to 72 hours to tow abandoned vehicles from city streets. In this case, the city of Santa Rosa’s contract with the company to tow large vehicles expired in early September, said Community Service Officer Sean Wall, who oversees the vehicle abatement program for the Santa Rosa Police Department.

“Normally I would have towed that on the spot,” Wall said. “We started working on getting a new contract in place (and) then the city burned. It has taken awhile.”

Why the contract lapsed in the first place is a question “27 steps above my pay grade,” Wall said. The city attorney’s office signed a new contract Tuesday morning with Santa Rosa-based Cream’s Towing after a competitive bidding process.

Cream’s was also the large vehicle-towing company contracted by the city before the last agreement expired, Wall said.

The inoperable RV had been left on the roadside, its engine and most other parts of value already removed.

Over the past four months the derelict RV has been tagged with graffiti, including the name “Heisenberg” in reference to the meth mogul in the TV series “Breaking Bad” and his mobile RV meth lab.

Around Christmas the RV was adorned with a bow. Most recently someone taped a piece of paper to it that read “If you want the eyesore/hazard removed (it’s been here since Sept. 11) call Chris Coursey, mayor of SR…”

Sunday evening around 7:45 p.m., the trailer went up in flames. The Santa Rosa police and fire departments are investigating the blaze as arson, said Battalion Chief Ken Sebastiani, who responded to the incident.

With a new contract in place there won’t be a lag of more than few days to pull abandoned vehicles from city streets, Wall said. His office typically receives 800 to 1,000 calls a month for vehicles that have either been abandoned or been parked on a public street for more than 72 hours.

With help from a group of volunteers, he investigates the claims. In most cases owners move their vehicle before towing is required, he said.

“We try to give folks the benefit of the doubt and give them some time to move the vehicle before they’re stuck with towing costs,” Wall said.

In the case of the Montgomery Drive RV, Wall recorded the vehicle identification number and registration and has a good idea who the owner was. But all identifying evidence was destroyed in the blaze Sunday, leaving the city to foot the bill, he said.

Under the vehicle abatement program the city will arrange to have any unwanted vehicle towed free of charge.

The program is funded through state vehicle registration fees.

“People call and say they have a piece of junk and want it to go away,” Wall said. “We make it go away.”

To report an abandoned vehicle or to have the city tow away your jalopy call the vehicle abatement program at 707-543-3594.