The City of Baltimore was forced to reimburse a woman $51,141 after the police accidentally auctioned off her truck to the highest bidder.
Baltimore resident Mary Pat Staron’s Toyota Tacoma was seized by the city police in 2022 as part of a homicide investigation.
It wasn’t until August 2023 that the police finally told her she could pick up her truck. When she arrived, the Tacoma was nowhere to be found.
There had been a paperwork mistake, and the truck did not have a police hold when it arrived at the Department of Transportation’s depot, officials explained to the city spending board on Sept. 4. When the truck went unclaimed for 11 days — no one had told Staron yet that she could retrieve it — it was put up for auction, as per city policy.
More incompetence by government workers. Wicomico County has incompetent government workers also.