Tow truck driver and wife wanted for murder of Augusta man

Tools

By NBC Augusta Staff

Story Published: Apr 13, 2009 at 12:30 PM EDT

Story Updated: Apr 15, 2009 at 8:21 AM EDT

MARTINEZ, Ga.- The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has issued an arrest warrant for a tow truck driver and his wife after an Augusta man was killed in Martinez last week.

Deputies say Michael and Victoria Brown will be charged with murder. They are from Lexington, South Carolina.

NBC Augusta 26 News first told you William Jacobs was hit and killed by a car on Dresden Drive Thursday night.

Investigators now say Jacobs was run over by the tow truck Michael Brown was driving. Victoria Brown was also inside the truck.

Officers say Jacobs was visiting friends whose car was being repossessed. They tell us Jacobs and another man were trying to get the Browns' attention because the tow truck was damaging another car parked in the driveway during the repossession.

Eyewitnesses say the Browns ignored their pleas and sped forward, running over Jacobs. Jacobs later died at the hospital.

Michael Brown also faces an aggravated assault charge.

User Agreement

View comments

The following comments do not necessarily represent the views of NBC Augusta 26 | news, weather, sports, community, entertainment, shopping for Augusta, Georgia. Users have agreed to these terms and in doing so accept full responsibility for their comments. Moderation is limited.

Monday, Dec 21 at 2:11 AM Tammy May wrote ...

I know my husband handle the debtors with care, he has even sat a their table and eat with them, the repo industry dont work like it did 30 yrs ago

34062697
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Dec 21 at 1:58 AM Estus May wrote ...

I have been doing repos for 20 years my wife goes with me on eveyone 1 car is not worth this, i have maybe had 2 guns pulled on me the whole time even on invol i call them and they will leave key under mat this is just stupid

34062199
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Aug 3 at 12:50 PM they got their reality check wrote ...

I think that Victoria should just get charged for being an accessory and simple battery not murder, Michael should get murder and everything else possible I think he should get life in prison without parole and sometimes Victoria i think should get the same thing but why not just give them both the worst death ever in return and give Victorias baby to foster care they should never be able to walk free again we all know it wasn't an accident how can you not tell you ran someone over

27231662
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, Jul 1 at 9:35 PM The Repoguy wrote ...

For not knowing what kind of person was working for them and lastly I blame the state for no regulation of the industry. I will be happy to answer any questions anyone may have to help them understand the situation better. my e-mail is haloinc@ymail.com

25278551
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, Jul 1 at 9:32 PM The Repoguy wrote ...

As long as the states dont regulate who is working in the industry there will always be individuals who are not properly trained and unprofessional. There is enough blame to go around and there are several deserving of it. For the record I have only been involved in 4 count them 4 violent confrontations in 20 years. So I figure i know what i am talking about. I blame the agent based on the data provided here on this blog for handling a voluntary repo completely wrong. I blame the agents employer

25278426
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, Jul 1 at 9:27 PM The Repoguy wrote ...

First let me start by offering my condolences to the family of the victim. I have been a repossessor for over 20 years. I am going to try to put this in perspective for everyone here so please keep an open mind for a moment. Yes the lenders do try to save money because they are a business. all businesses try to keep overhead to a minimum and this is just good business from a fiscal standpoint. Many but not the majority of states require certification and licsensed field agents.

25278214
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, May 13 at 5:25 PM Tamra Branon wrote ...

Victoria is my cousin and I know deep down she did not mean to do this and I hope all goes well for her and her baby as for her husband I do not know him!~

21388444
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Apr 27 at 7:35 PM get real wrote ...

to all who are supporting this company may God steer your herts back in he right direction. The brown family and I mean all of them are TRASH, most have criminal records and ALL lie and manipulate to get their way and they think this was mr.jacobs fault, who could actually say a man deserved to die....people who are screwed in the head like them. Michaels record has so many violent offenses no his mom didnt raise a murderer though,just a woman beater..i pray that God punished the 2 of them HARD!

20317297
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Saturday, Apr 25 at 5:51 PM former Renaissance employee wrote ...

renasissance is NOT responsible for the drivers that are hired by service providers (repo men)...the responsibiblty for background checks are strictly on the providers shoulders. Just because RRS is a broker that owns renovo, it is not that companies fault....although in light of this, over 50 people have been fired, layed off, or quit....i give it 3 months and RRS will shut their doors and Renovo will be out of business as well.

20217277
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Saturday, Apr 18 at 7:52 PM Kathy R. wrote ...

Michael did not mean to harm anyone. I totally believe this. He comes from a good family. His mom will help anyone who needs it. She DID NOT raise a murderer! You people need to think... what if this was your child up for murder? This family needs support not criticism!

19836406
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Saturday, Apr 18 at 11:31 AM John wrote ...

I would like to say to all defending the actions of the husband and wife you need to think again. If they were not guilty they would not have drove away. can you hit a speedbump and not feel it? I am sure it was more than that size they knew what they did and are as guity as anything and proved it by leaving and not going to cops sooner. My heart goes out to the family of the man killed, familys involved and to all of you who think this was no crime!

19824352
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Friday, Apr 17 at 10:01 AM Mia wrote ...

You are 100% right...God knows.

19770851
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Friday, Apr 17 at 9:20 AM Amber Brown wrote ...

hey he didn't mean to do it the man shouldn't be beating on the truck it the mans fault and he should have let him go with the truck and not pulled a gun on the repo man but it will be all over soon thank god for my brother and my sister in law it was an accident. the repo man had the right to grab the truck. SO yall ignorant people out there needs to lay off his back. God still loves him and god knows it was an accident

19768087
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Thursday, Apr 16 at 10:56 AM SoxFan wrote ...

For all those ignorant fools that believe Mr. Jacobs was trying to be a hero to stop the truck you have it all wrong. Mr. Jacobs was trying to get the driver to stop because his vehicle was struck by the tower. There was no attempt to prevent the repossession! Who cares if the car was being repossessed you people are missing the point. THE MAN WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED, tragically run-over. If you are unaware of the facts keep your ignorant comments to yourself. God Bless you Bill (AKA Santa)!

19689937
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, Apr 15 at 10:39 PM Anonymous wrote ...

What would compell Jacobs to risk his life for a friends car? This situation ended tragically. There is suffucient blame and finger pointing to find fault in everyone, including the individual who's misplaced herioc efforts resuilted in the loss of life. My heart goes out to the family and friends of this well meaning stranger.

19661791
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, Apr 15 at 1:10 PM repo man wrote ...

I do repossessions and this is not how we are told to handle things this guy sounds like a loose cannon. I can say that this gives all repo agents a bad name.My heart goes out to the family of the victim.

19626467
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, Apr 15 at 1:05 PM opperation recovery wrote ...

I would first like to send my condolences to the victims family. I would also like to say that that being close to the family in this situation the man was driving a white Renovo truck and Renovo was sent out by Renaissance who was hired by NUVELL the finance company not GMAC.from what I hear Renovo don't do background checks..I have found ads online from them the only requirement is good MVR. Who is responsible for hiring this guy?That is who I hold responsible that person should quit!

19626157
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, Apr 15 at 12:40 PM Howard wrote ...

An Assention Recovery agent (another forwarder/broker owned by Renovo and Renaissance)shot and killed a debtor in Alabama last year http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29427734/. These forwarding companys are a real problem to the repo world. A professional recovery company will be a member of a major recovery trade association and be nationally certified. These brokers hire the cheapest! It has been determined in court that lienholders are responsible for what the agents they hire do, SUE THEM HARD!

19624242
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, Apr 15 at 12:38 PM Anonymous wrote ...

According to the Columbia, SC Renovo office, he WAS an employee of theirs. Renissance owns Renovo and GMAC hired Renaissance who forwarded the work to Renovo who sent this person out on this Voluntary Repo. Anyone care to dispute his prior criminal record? How about his prior problems when repoing in SC? Any defenders of GMAC or the forwarders here? Come on guys, we all know if he had been trained and educated in repossessions none of this would have happened. Why wasn't he certified?

19624121
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wednesday, Apr 15 at 6:17 AM God help us all... wrote ...

May God extend His tender mercy to the families involved...and to the people whom have chosen to jump so quickly to judgement. The death of this man was senseless, his family's suffering needless.. I am so sorry for you loss. One of the two in the detention center is my child.

19604142
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Tuesday, Apr 14 at 10:22 PM James Henderson is full of it wrote ...

How can you say what happen is the company"s fault.To set the record straight he did not work for Renovo as an employee.So be careful when u speak out loud about something u don't know about

19595982
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Tuesday, Apr 14 at 7:12 AM Midnightman wrote ...

In this business as much as goes on in the field and as little sleep real agents get sometimes their judgment is clouded and yes everyone at one time or another has made mistakes but this one an innocent victim has paid the ultimate price with his life on the behalf of a running scared repo agent If he had any sense he would had stopped when the vehicle damage was done Mr. Jacobs paid the price for mere stupidity. Its a sad a day for all repo agents with a heart. GOD BLESS all who have lost

19549107
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Tuesday, Apr 14 at 7:04 AM Midnightman wrote ...

I am a repossession agent and have been for 15 years. If this was a voluntary repo the agent should have never been out to begin with without first trying phone contact and set up an appointment for surrendering the unit.I am sorry to hear about the loss of Mr. Jacobs this was a senseless act on the agents part and could of been avoided If the agent had hit the vehicle and the debtor seen this he should of what we call it manned up and got out of his truck and asked how he could fix the problem.

19548987
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Tuesday, Apr 14 at 1:30 AM Anonymous wrote ...

who are ya'll to judge this young man!! no one ones whet really happen out there that night !! repo cars an trucks you wouldnt believe the things thay can happen!!! people act crazy when the repo man comes to get a car. cause they didnt pay there bills!!!

19545982
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Apr 13 at 7:36 PM Thid shoul be impossible to happen wrote ...

How can a simple voluntary repossession (a repossession the finance company was told to come and get) end up killing anyone? Please provide more information how this happened.

19533542
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Apr 13 at 6:13 PM Anonymous wrote ...

The reason why they was trying to get away so fast was, they went there a day early to repo the vehicle. But, that don't excuse them of the horrific act they committed. These repo people act like, the vehicles are their's !! If you are going to be in that business be professional. If you encounter a violent person call the police ,that's what they get paid to do ,uphold the law.

19529797
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Apr 13 at 5:23 PM James Henderson wrote ...

This company is Renova Services. They are crooks and are screwing the good honest repossession companies. They say they are professional, if they are they would have their driver turn himself in!

19527141
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Apr 13 at 5:13 PM GCS wrote ...

I used to repossess cars. This behavior is repulsive! There are a lot of companies out there that hire repo people to recover their collateral BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. They need to hold the employing banks/car lots responsible as well.

19526587
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Apr 13 at 4:53 PM Tracy wrote ...

If the lenders would stop trying to save money and hiring forwarding companys (brokers) they would not get these kind of scummy people doing the repos. Forwarders hire the cheapest drivers they can find to save themselves a bigger piece of the money. This forwarder Renovo is responsible for several other deaths. It owns Assention Recovery. Renaissance Recovery owns part of both. The media needs to talk with the lenders about who they are sending out and handing people's private account info to.

19525217
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Apr 13 at 4:43 PM Scum handling peoples private data wrote ...

If the lenders would stop trying to save money and hiring forwarding companys (brokers) they would not get these kind of scummy people doing the repos. Forwarders hire the cheapest drivers they can find to save themselves a bigger piece of the money. This forwarder Renovo is responsible for several other deaths. It owns Assention Recovery. Renaissance Recovery owns part of both. The media needs to talk with the lenders about who they are sending out and handing people's private account info to.

19524657
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Apr 13 at 1:55 PM PaperChaser wrote ...

The car companies are making all the money. People act like it is their car they are repossessing from someone. These repo people act like animals most of the time.

19512457
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Monday, Apr 13 at 1:10 PM smbga wrote ...

what a needless death! God have mercy

19509837
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

WAGT and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. Comments are posted on site immediately and without station moderation. If you feel a comment is inappropriate you may flag it for review. For guidelines on flagging comments see our Terms & Conditions. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

I have read and agree to the terms

Hide comments

More Good Stuff

Advertisement

WAGT Weather

Click here for 7 Day Forecast
Icon
Current Temp 76.0 °F
Partly Cloudy
More Weather

WAGT Weather

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

On Demand

NBC Augusta 26 RSS FeedsNBC Augusta 26 Twitter Feed NBC Augusta 26 Facebook Page NBC Full Shows Online
 Local Guides
 Aiken
 Anderson
 Athens
 Augusta
 Columbia
 Dublin
 Eatonton
 Elberton
 Evans
 Fountain Inn
 Gaston
 Greenwood
 Grovetown
 Hartwell
 Hephzibah
 Irmo
 Laurens
 Lexington
 Milledgeville
 Newberry
 North Augusta
 Orangeburg
 Statesboro
 Thomson
 West Columbia

Viewer Poll

What do you think about Tiger's return to golf for the Masters Tournament?

  • Too soon, he should focus on his family
  • He's apologized, it's time for him to return to the game