Notorious tow truck driver faces new charges after NC AG’s court order

CHARLOTTE — North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson says a court order involving a local towing company is setting a precedent for predatory towing.

Channel 9’s Hannah Goetz learned that there have been complaints against the driver stretching back at least a decade. That driver now has new pending criminal charges.

“If you don’t follow the rules, you’ll be punished. Take it from A1 Towing in Charlotte, who just found out,” Jackson said in a new video.

We first told you about the court order in January. The state alleges that David Satterfield and his companies A1 Towing and Automobile Recovery and Parking Enforcement were charging up to $4,400 to release a single vehicle, targeting Black drivers, and threatening drivers with escalating fees. They were also improperly booting and towing trucks that were delivering food, water, or medical supplies during a declared emergency.

We went through complaints sent to Channel 9 over the years about Satterfield, and we found a complaint and a receipt from a viewer ten years ago.

“That’s just basic greed, there’s just no reason for somebody to do that,” said Bill Grifenhagen.

Grifenhagen says he was volunteering with a Charlotte nonprofit to deliver meals to people in need when he fell victim to Satterfield.

“I swear, from the time I went to the trunk of my car, got the food, walked across the street, walked up the flight of stairs, rang the bell and gave the person the food, I’ll bet it was a maximum of two to three minutes,” Grifenhagen said.

Criminal charges filed against David Satterfield

Ten years later, we’re still finding multiple criminal charges against Satterfield. The most recent came after Jackson’s court order. In May, Satterfield was charged for pointing a gun at someone’s face in Mecklenburg County. That same month, he was charged in Gaston County, accused of backing into a car with his tow truck with the driver still in it, and then moving two people while in their cars and pepper-spraying one of them in the face.

As part of the order, Satterfield agreed to a number of conditions, including paying back tens of thousands of dollars to the people they mistreated. If Satterfield doesn’t, the companies have to pay an extra penalty of over $100,000.