Owner of West Valley tow company accused of targeting minority semitruck drivers

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — The owner of a West Valley towing company is being accused of “predatory towing” and preying on immigrant and minority semitruck drivers.

Jason Samuel Lovato, 46, of Salt Lake City, was charged on July 31, with two dozen crimes including: engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, theft, three counts of robbery and 10 counts of theft by extortion, second-degree felonies; six counts of vehicle burglary, theft by deception, and assault with substantial injury, third-degree felonies; and assault, a class A misdemeanor.

If convicted, each charge carries a “victim-targeting enhancement” during sentencing, meaning victims “belonging to a particular ethnicity, race, and/or national origin” were intentionally singled out, court documents allege.

Lovato is the owner of Bailout Towing. According to charging documents, West Valley police began investigating Lovato nearly a year ago in September “for predatory towing and semitruck impoundments. During the investigation, (the detective) found that Lovato and his employees would unlawfully impound semitrucks and trailers with strong-arm tactics, holding the semitrucks and trailers for ransom, and/or stealing the semitrucks/trailers” and that they “would only target immigrant and minority semitruck drivers and would not try to tow similarly situated drivers of Caucasian/white descent.”

Read the full story and more from Pat Reavy on ksl.com.

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