LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Auctions at the Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) impound lot serve two main purposes; they help police clear space, and people can get a great deal if they're willing to take a big gamble on the condition of the car.
But if there's valuable items inside the car or strapped to the roof, who gets them?
"I read somewhere -- and maybe it wasn't that specific auction, but it could have been -- that it said 'You have to take everything that you bid on,'" Emily Howell said, who bought a car at an auction about one year ago. "Because they don't need all that trash, they're trying to get rid of it. They need more space. Of course everything's supposed to come with it."
According to Kentucky law and Louisville Metro codes and ordinances, local governments have to wait 45 days for a previous owner to claim a vehicle before it becomes government property. After that, a municipality can use it for city purposes, sell it for scrap metal, or list it at a public auction.
Once the decision is made to auction a vehicle, they call the auctioneer and they take pictures.
Howell was bidding on a red 1996 GMC Sierra truck in late September 2023 majorly because it had a kayak, two tool boxes and several fishing poles in the photos. The leading bid was around $700 and Howell decided to go a few hundred more to get these extra items.
"The kayak and the fishing poles that were pictured is ultimately why I upped the bid and just went for it," Howell said. She ended up winning and had to pay a total of $1,026.
On the day she went to pick up the truck, she noticed the kayak was missing. She immediately ran into the tow lot office, and asked what happened.
"She said that I 'bought the truck for scrap', and that the previous owners had a 'court order' to get their personal belongings out," Howell said.
When the tow truck driver she contracted to tow it off the lot dropped it off in her driveway, she saw the fishing poles and several tools were gone as well.
FOCUS spoke to the previous owner of the truck who didn't want to be identified publicly, but confirmed he was never able to reclaim his items. We also sent his name to the Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk, who confirmed there was never a court order.
LMPD would not answer any specific questions about Howell's case. A spokesperson did say in a separate email that previous owners are allowed to get their items up until a sale goes final.
Wanting to get video proof of what happened, FOCUS submitted an open records request for security camera video of this truck in the fenced-off area where cars about to go auction are stored. Our request was for six days around the date when the sale went final.
Our records request was denied, saying the video was part of an active criminal investigation.
"The release of the video you requested is denied per KRS 61.878(1)(h) as it is part of an active criminal investigation and its premature release would harm the ongoing investigation. The suspects in this investigation are unaware that they are acting within a camera and the premature release of the requested video would tip them off that they are under criminal investigation," The Louisville Metro Government Public Records office said in a statement on July 15.
Police would not confirm any part of an investigation in July, and declined again to say anything this week.
"You don't steal from people, you don't take things that aren't yours," Howell said.
Howell is so frustrated by the whole situation, she has been content to just let the car sit in her dad's backyard in Shepherdsville.
"I'm just, I get aggravated at the whole situation," she said.
FOCUS received the same denial of records message for video inside the auction area for three separate days in 2024.
For now, Howell is left knowing that someone stole the items she bid on, but she sees no effort underway to rectify things.
The tow lot is operated by LMPD, but also has non-sworn city employees. Lt. Armin White is the tow lot administrator.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.