Cape Coral, FL – A Southwest Florida man has been arrested after allegedly holding onto a rented U-Haul truck for over a month beyond the agreed return date.
According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), authorities say 46-year-old Patrick Vincent Gajkowski is facing a felony charge of failure to redeliver a hired vehicle.
The incident began on Nov. 5, when Gajkowski signed a rental agreement with U-Haul to use one of their trucks.
The agreement stipulated that the vehicle would be returned by November 25th.
However, U-Haul reported that Gajkowski failed to comply, ignoring repeated attempts by the company to contact him regarding the overdue truck.
Despite U-Haul’s efforts, which included sending a formal letter of demand, Gajkowski allegedly continued to keep the vehicle.
The matter escalated to law enforcement when deputies were called to the U-Haul location on North Cleveland Avenue on Thursday, January 2nd to investigate the unreturned rental truck.
Deputies tracked down Gajkowski and the U-Haul vehicle to Bartholomew Drive, where he was taken into custody.