Impound nightmare: Woman gets vehicle returned after she says police made huge mistake
The officer said the vehicle was stolen and had an altered VIN. Her friend was arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including grand larceny.
A Pennsylvania woman says she has a small sense of relief after finally getting her 2018 Range Rover back.
As News 12 first reported, Marlyn Benjamin's vehicle was impounded by the NYPD in October after her friend was pulled over by police after dropping off Benjamin and her mother, who is battling cancer at a hospital for treatment.
The officer said the vehicle was stolen and had an altered VIN. Her friend was arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including grand larceny.
"I bought this car from a dealership," Benjamin said. "I know this car is registered, the car was inspected."
Her mother died two weeks after the incident, and Benjamin said instead of spending her time with her ailing mother, she was at the 73rd Precinct trying to prove the vehicle police had in their possession was legally hers and that they had made a mistake.
"I was treated like a criminal, like I did something wrong," she said.
On Monday, the NYPD finally released the vehicle to Benjamin after she hired an attorney who found out that it was police who actually put the wrong VIN on the paperwork and the car was in fact released from their custody - eight days after police seized it.
"It ended up, they saying I abandoned the car," Benjamin said.
The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office confirmed to News 12 the charges against Benjamin's friend have been dismissed.
