Man gets his stolen car back - as well as a the tickets and fines it racked up while it was gone

A Baltimore man whose stolen vehicle was eventually recovered by police is now stuck managing thousands of dollars in toll violations and state-issued fines generated during the time it was missing.Trace Thompson discovered his vehicle was missing from his Mount Vernon neighborhood around 6 a.m. on October 17 as he was preparing to head to work.“I was in a bit of panic. I was trying to get to work at the time. It was about 6 in the morning,” Thompson told CBS affiliate WJZ. After initially dialing 311, Thompson was told by an operator that the car might have been relocated due to a local marathon. He then requested an on-site police response, and officers who arrived two days later confirmed the vehicle had been stolen.Baltimore police tracked the vehicle using municipal license plate reader cameras. Working with the auto manufacturer to monitor the vehicle’s location, Thompson pinpointed it to a local motel and relayed the coordinates to law enforcement.A Baltimore driver is facing thousands of dollars in state-issued fines and unpaid toll notices that accumulated while his stolen car was missing from his Mount Vernon neighborhood (Getty Images)Baltimore County police located the car at 3 a.m. last week parked outside a Wawa in Lansdowne, Virginia.“I was actually able to pass my location information to the police department, and two days later, at three o’clock in the morning, I received a call that my car had been found next to a Wawa,” Thompson said.Officers arrested the driver, Bobby Hamlett, charging him with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. According to charging documents, Hamlett told authorities he knew Thompson and had borrowed the vehicle with permission.“I don’t think I would ever let somebody borrow my car and take it to a highway motel,” Thompson said.Upon regaining possession of the car, Thompson found significant physical damage and trash inside.“The individual actually, through the left side port window, was able to pop the rubber out and then pried out the window from there,” Thompson said. “In the back there were trash bags full of stuff.” He noted that the bags contained garbage, narcotics and bodily fluids.“I think the car was more of a crime scene than a vehicle recovery,” Thompson said.Beyond the physical damage, municipal administrative penalties quickly began arriving in his mail. Thompson received multiple notices for unpaid toll crossings and a $2,398 fine from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration for an alleged lapse in insurance coverage.“So I got two within an hour of each other between Baltimore Tunnel South and Fort McHenry,” Thompson said. “I received a fine for $2,398 in the mail for insurance.”Maryland officials reported that its automated systems generated the penalty notice after receiving notification that the vehicle was reported stolen. The agency stated it was reaching out directly to Thompson, who maintained that his auto insurance policy remained active throughout the entire period. Thompson remains unsure whether additional traffic or toll violations will arrive in the mail.To prevent another theft, Thompson now pays to park his vehicle in a secure garage located nearly a mile away from his residence. He is urging local government officials to take stronger measures against vehicle thefts across the city.“If stuff like this keeps happening to your young professionals, we’re going to leave,” Thompson said.Hamlett is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing in December.