February 27th, 2009 by Reed Allmand 
According to an article in the Star-Telegram, a 67-year-old railroad retiree is dead after confronting a repo man attempting to tow away his vehicle at 2:30 in the morning.
The article said:
Alone in his mobile home off a winding dirt road, Jimmy Tanks heard a commotion at 2:30 a.m. just outside his bedroom window: Somebody was messing with his car.
The 67-year-old railroad retiree grabbed a gun, walked out the back door and confronted not a thief but a repo man and two helpers trying to tow off the Chrysler Sebring. Shots were fired, and Tanks wound up dead, a bullet in his chest.
The man who came to repossess the car, Kenneth Alvin Smith, is awaiting trial on a murder charge in a state considered a Wild West territory even by the standards of an industry that’s largely unregulated nationally.
This story is an unnecessary tragedy. Let’s discuss some ground rules for dealing with repossessions:
- Never confront the repo man especially with a gun or other weapon.
- If you know that your vehicle payments are delinquent, be mentally prepared to face repossession eventually especially if you haven’t taken actions such as filing bankruptcy to stop repossession. .
- If your vehicle is in jeopardy of being repossessed, speak with a bankruptcy attorney to find out how you can stop the repossession and save your vehicle using bankruptcy.
- Never jeopardize your life or the lives of others for a vehicle or any other type of property being repossessed.
As the economy worsens not only are people facing job losses, repossessions and foreclosures, they are facing anger which is making matters related to money literally dangerous and life threatening. It is important for those facing financial crisis to consider all of their options, including bankruptcy BEFORE their property is repossessed or foreclosed on. But whatever you do please DO NOT physically confront those who are repossessing your property, at best you can end up in jail and at worse–dead.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
View all posts by Reed AllmandSubscribe
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