Clerical error leads to purchase of stolen car

NORTH BRANFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- A woman bought her first car with her hard earned money and months later police took it away from her. It turns out, the car she bought was stolen.

It's certainly not a complaint you hear everyday. The 20-year-old woman is furious, so is the car shop owner who claims he did nothing wrong at all.

News 8 did some digging to find out what went wrong and who is responsible.

Just as she was getting used to the first car she bought on her own she says, "I got pulled over in Wallingford and they told me my car was stolen."

Police made a few calls to New Haven and sent her on her way.

In August, two months later, 20-year-old Brittany Boyers got a knock on the door from North Branford and New Haven Police. Once again officers told her that the 2003 Honda Civic she was driving was a stolen car. That second time, they took it away.

"I was crying and had to take everything out of my car. It was upsetting," said Boyers. "It's been so stressful trying to get rides everywhere, it's just a lot."

Boyers bought the car for $6,000 at R.J. Shore Automotive in North Branford. When she and her dad asked the owner what was going on he told them he got the car from an abandoned lot, jumped through all the appropriate legal hoops and even had the proper title from the state.

"They held no responsibility and didn't want to give me my money back," Boyers said.

The car shop owner wouldn't show his face on camera, but he had no problem sharing his side of the story with News 8. He says he did everything right and the dispatcher at the police station did everything wrong.

"It's all on the New Haven PD," he said. "That guy didn't register the car as being stolen."

New Haven Police says a city employee whose job it is to put stolen vehicles on a National registry made a simple clerical error that created the mess.

A woman who now lives in Arizona reported the car stolen in New Haven well before January when Boyers bought it.

So, the car dealer did nothing wrong.

"The young girl owns the car, give her the car," he said. "I feel bad for her, she's a young kid."

Police say the city of New Haven is looking into the proper way to resolve the situation. It may take some time, but the goal is to make things right for Boyers.