Victims of car-towing scheme settle class-action lawsuit against King City police.

In January of 2012, Jesus Garcia was driving through King City when a police officer pulled him over. He was cited for a minor traffic infraction, and within minutes, a tow truck showed up. 

Nobody told him why his car was being towed. They did tell him he could retrieve his car after 30 days—if he paid towing, impound and storage fees and charges. 

But Garcia never saw his car again: It was sold or given away by the tow company and police officers. 

That's all according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed against the city of King City, the police department and a long list of former and current cops, alleging the police targeted poor, Latino immigrants, seized their cars and kept, gifted or sold many of them for their own personal profit. 

The suit was filed March 10, 2014, just a few weeks after the Feb. 25 arrests of the retired chief, acting chief, acting chief's brother and four other police officers.

More than a year and a half later, that lawsuit has settled. A settlement agreement was recorded Oct. 21 in a federal court entry: 

“The case settled; the appropriate government approvals for the settlement have been obtained. The parties are finalizing the releases and the written settlement agreement.”

The parties have until Dec. 3 to file documents connected to the settlement, and attorneys are not authorized to speak about the details—like how much money is involved—until the settlement is approved by the court. 

But people familiar with the case say that the city will create a pool of money and allow victims whose cars were towed to file claims and be paid out of that pool; any money leftover at a certain date will be returned to the city. 

Individuals named in the case will not have to pay anything, sources say. 

The individuals named, current or former police, are numerous: former acting chief Bruce Miller; Bobby Carrillo; Mario Mottu Sr.; Jaime Andrade; retired chief Nick Baldiviez; Jesus Yanez; Jerry Hunter; Joey Perez; and one civilian, Brian Miller, who is Bruce Miller's brother and who formerly operated the towing company that was involved. 

Also as part of the settlement, retired chief Nick Baldiviez will drop his cross-complaint against King City.

In March, he sued the city of King City, arguing that if something illegal really did happen, it wasn't his fault and his former employer (the city) should have to pay. If he had done anything wrong, he alleged, it was by accident: "The conduct of [Baldiviez], if any, was passive, secondary, and derivative only."

A criminal trial against Baldiviez ended in a hung jury. After that, he took a plea deal in July, pleading no contest to two misdemeanor counts, one for embezzlement of a police car and one of obstruction of justice for lying to investigators.. 

Of the seven people arrested and charged in February 2014, all have agreed to plea bargains except one, Officer Bobby Carrillo, who is scheduled to go to trial in January. 

Carrillo and his wife Julie Carrillo filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in April, and U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee Devin Derham-Burk approved a payment plan on remaining debt on Oct. 9.

The Carrillos held about $1.1 million in debt, including $45,000 owed to the IRS, and nearly $50,000 in credit card debt, according to bankruptcy filings. The majority of the debt was owed on mortgages for three homes the couple owns in King City. (They live in Soledad.)

In January, just weeks before he was arrested, Carrillo opened a workmen's comp claim for a back injury and stress, according to bankruptcy papers. 

While on disability leave, Carrillo was not being paid, according to bankruptcy papers. (He remains on leave, pending an internal KCPD investigation.)

One other defendant in the case, Brian Miller (who formerly owned and operated Miller's Towing, implicated in the alleged scheme), also filed for bankruptcy.