Bolt cutters end boot dispute, for now

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - One sandwich shop patron was so outraged when he found his car booted in the parking lot next door he cut off the wheel lock claiming to KRQE News 13 he was the victim of a racket.

However all indications are that what he called a racket is legal. The parking lot on Lomas Boulevard NW between Fifth and Sixth Streets may be convenient to the Subway shop on the corner, but it's a pay-as-you-go operation.

But drivers have a problem with how the boot man employed by the lot operator boots the cars. As News 13 observed for a recent report , the boot man sat in the lot watching for people who didn't pay.

After booting the cars he waited nearby for the people to call him on the cell phone number he left so he can collect $50 cash to get the boot off.

Jack Larson wasn't having it.

"He's running a racket here," Larson told News 13. "I'm going to help myself out of the situation, and if he has a problem he can sue me."

So Larson with two of his friends cut off the boot from the car. And when the boot man blocked Larson's car in when he saw the cut boot, Larson was able to squeeze his car out and get away.

But what they may not know is that the boot man got their license number and plans to file a police report for criminal damage to property. The owner of the property, Ricardo Chavez, said he leases the parking lot to another person.

Chavez said he does not have a problem with the way the boot man clamps on his devices. He said it's the only way to get some people to pay.