Preacher gets court sermon about towing, selling stolen cars

Bill Gang

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1999 | 9:44 a.m.

A North Las Vegas preacher probably knew the Ten Commandments prohibit stealing, but a careful reading apparently didn't say anything about towing away stolen vehicles and selling them for a little extra cash.

For Seward Victorian and the Church of the Lord Jesus, it's going to be hard to continue what District Judge Stephen Huffaker characterized as "kind of an unusual business for a church."

Huffaker on Monday approved the seizure of the church's 1990 GMC pickup that was outfitted as a tow truck. Victorian had used the truck to raise money for the church by picking up abandoned cars and selling them for salvage.

The truck was seized after Victorian's guilty plea to a gross misdemeanor charge of attempted forgery of a bill of sale for a stolen 1988 Chevrolet that he sold to a scrap yard for $50.

Vehicles or property directly connected to crimes are subject to forfeiture under Nevada law.

The church's lawyer, Randall Pike, argued in court that the state went too far in seizing the church's truck because it cuts off a source of revenue needed by the church, located at Bartlett Street and Lexington Avenue.

Deputy Attorney General Grenville Pridham said Victorian towed the stripped and abandoned Chevrolet in December and stored it at the church while arranging the paperwork needed to sell it.

Pridham said Victorian knew from a check with the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety that the car had been stolen, but rather than call police he falsified documents in the name of the owner and sold the car on Jan. 2.

The bill of sale was notarized by the preacher's granddaughter, as were a dozen other blank bills of sale found in Victorian's possession, the prosecutor said.

Pike characterized the behavior as "a stupid thing, no question about it," but he argued that the remaining hulk of the car was so damaged that it couldn't qualify as a vehicle under the law.

Pike said after the hearing that he probably will appeal the ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court.