The guy missed making payment and wasn't heard from for eight months, so he got moved to the bottom of the list. Then pays in full and expects immediate delivery for basically a one off custom fabricated car? How was this information overlooked by a seasoned sheriff? I think the dirty sheriff, even on his way out the door, needs to be held accountable.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around a California Sheriff did all this as a favor for a friend and somehow got 3 different judges to sign off for it. The Sheriff is, literally, working overtime with this mind-boggling abuse of power.
As a resident of San Mateo county I am embarrassed that our outgoing sheriff has indulged an inappropriate investigation, and I am angry that he wasted several thousand dollars flying some deputies across the country and putting them up for a few nights. Kind of why he wasn't re-elected.
He and all involved should be held accountable!!! This poor guy, Recop, has a felony charge on his record forever now (they never drop off regardless of conviction)! Too bad there is not a criminal charge that applies to the DA in San Mateo, The sheriff AND his deputies (a LT, Sergent and 2 deputies) and the LAw enforcement in Indiana!!
21 years ago I was in the Barris shop. The secretary took my 10 year old to show her something while I was talking to George. She returned without my daughter and says I’ll take you to her. As we came around the corner she was sitting in the original Batmobile. Was one of the coolest moments of my life. George was kind enough to meet with some tourist from ND out of the blue.
George was the face of the shop, his brother was the fabricator and was their builder. Also George wasn't above claiming other people's work, like Dean Jefferies " Monkey mobile " that George said he built.
Steve, one important detail of this story you explained in your first video was how the irresponsible California jerk who ordered the Batmobile fell behind on his payments. Thusly, this jerk was solely responsible for being dropped to the back end of the delivery schedule. It turns out this jerk who thinks he can ignore his responsibilities without consequences has a friend that seems to have a similar personality and is also a local Sheriff. When you find out some of theses details please lay them on us. That’s the story we are dying to know more about, an abusive sheriff attacking and bullying an innocent citizen as a favor for an a$$whole buddy of his. Let’s focus on that color-of-law abuse (when you find out the details) and let this story gain altitude. Thank you for covering this story and please keep us up to date as you learn more.
Not only did he fall behind his payment, the builder got no response from the buyer for 8 months, that is why his car was put in the back of the line. When the buyer finally showed up and paid it off, he was told due to the delay and other models in the process of being built, that he had to wait for it to be finished.
That was all mentioned when he first covered the story. "Update" implies the existence of other videos that you should watch before commenting about information not contained in this video.
The sheriff was voted out of office and will be done at the end of the year. He is also on a month long vacation and can not be contacted.. The buyer is also out of the country on vacation he claims that he will sit down for an interview when he returns next week.. .. The city council has agreed to investigate.. That is what is being reported in the San Mateo area.. Also see comment below...
It's been reported that tax payers in CA are asking the local board members for answers. The tax payers are on the hook for 10k in expensing so far, and they want answers. This case is going to get really interesting
it just exposes what everyone already knows about politicians and law enforcement, they are corrupt for the right friends or price. violations of public trust should carry double the sentencing, maybe it would discourage those who seek office for their own benefit(and their friends)
Isn't Indiana one of the states where California doesn't allow public funds to be used for travel? Pretty sure this isn't one of the exceptions to that prohibition.
As reported, the CA officials actions are deplorable. However, the Sheriff in IN need to be held accountable as well. Was she/he doing a favor too? How about the IN judge? Is it a requirement to provide the car builder a full copy of the warrant . . . to be valid? Seems like sloppy LE good-ol-boys network exposed by a spoiled brat.
Who’s the spoiled brat in this scenario? I’ve seen a couple people mention a spoiled brat or person but never in a matter of fact way of whom they were speaking of. Now if you mean the rich idiot in CA that originally ordered and started all this BS, I would fully agree with you and would go so far as to say his arse should be sued for all the pain and suffering he has caused the auto maker. And everyone else involved in this case, every cop, judge, prosecutor and anyone else that had absolutely anything to do with this should all be fired, disbarred, decertified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law! Or maybe just send Batman after each and everyone of them for corruption!
Mark is a personal friend of mine and I just want to say that Mark does not deserve this kind of treatment from the guy in California. He is a man of great character and an all around great guy. Thank you for posting this video.
Mark Racop is absolutely a lovely -- and honest -- human being, I knew him back when he was building his first Batmobile. He was extremely meticulous with every little detail and measurement, his work is terrific. He doesn't deserve any of this.
If Mr. Racop can refuse the sale, and give a partial refund (covering his expenses so far, including legal), he should. That way the rich twat will never get his dream car. Batman would approve.
Even the citizens (except 2) in San Mateo County are angry about this event. So much so, that the County supervisors are investigating both the DA & Sheriff's office.
@@Watchingyou-daily It's rare but I have a feeling that people in the DA's office and in the sheriff's office will be answering questions to some with a badge .
@jimmy jam..makes one wonder just how many law enforcement people this CA real estate 'tycoon' contributed to in their elections? Were they ALL returning 'favors'?
When you are dealing with an automobile custom builder, restorer, or race shop fabricator this is a common practice. You give the shop a down payment for the work you specify, and as more work is needed you get another bill to pay for parts and labor still needed going forward. If you do not pay, all work stops on your build and they move onto projects that are paid for and get them out the door until you pay them what is needed. No custom fabricator is going to front the money out of his own pocket for a build he might get stiffed on when the customer gets the final bill, sticking him with a car that maybe no one else wants to buy when he sells it trying to recoup what the shop has in it. You pay as you go or your build goes nowhere.
So does the car look like it's anywhere near ~80% done to you? Given that 170k out of 210k was paid? No? I guess at least you got 29 other Lemmings to like your post 😁
@@destaccado Tell me you absolutely nothing about fabricating without telling me you know absolutey nothing about fabricating. Tell me, what part of the payment is the fabricator's profit? It comes out of the down payment. You get paid first, not last pal. In case some jerk stiffs you, you take your profit first from the down payment or else there is no profit left to be had. The rest of the job the customer paid for, so no loss to the shop owner.
@@destaccado I've known Mark for 30 years and ridden in two of the Batmobiles. Since you have no idea what work is involved in building one, I'd suggest not sounding like a complete idiot in case people mistake you for one. You might grasp that there are several stages--mechanical, body, and detail among them, and there are parts that take weeks and parts that take minutes. Also, at any given time, there are 6 cars in the shop in various stages from recently acquired chassis to complete vehicle.
@@mzmadmike I don't give a shit if you're his twin brother. The 1/1/2017 contract he signed with the buyer said that the car was estimated to be done 06/30/2018. That's exactly 1.5 years. The supposed missed payment for 20k? Right around the 3 year mark. Your buddy's been sued before for basically the same thing and had to settle. It's now 8/22/2022 - ~5 years and 8 months from the contract, ~2 years and 8 months from the supposed missed payment, and ~2 years from the car being paid in full. In spite of all that - he's still sitting on someone else's 210k and using silly excuses about 20k as to why it isn't even close to finished. The probable reason for all the problems? He apparently gave an absolute bullshit delivery timeline to a customer. A customer who also claimed in court that Mark actually sold his car for 300k to someone else. Let's see how highly you speak about him when he's holding up to 210k of your money for damn near 6 years. No doubt the cars are hard to build, take a lot of work, and seem to be high quality when finished. You still have a legal obligation to disclose a proper estimate before taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from someone.
@@destaccado how about the fact that he has a waiting list on these cars and the guy missed his dowm payment for 8 months then when Mark said he's pushing Hua car to the end of the line thr guy then pays in full to try and make him Change his mind but he said no. There's is absolutely nothing illegal about that you puts
This begs new questions: How many civil litigators have reached out to Mark Racop to help take a bite out of Sam Anagnostou (the rich Californian whose hobby is buying expensive things) and Sheriff Carlos Bolanos for using the justice system to vengefully harass Racop? How many new Batmobiles have been ordered due to all the free publicity? I hope Fiberglass Freaks gets to open multiple new assembly lines. Thanks Steve for your dedication and keeping us updated!
@@charlescrosswhite4845 The last news story I heard it sounded like they are because he can't pay his staff and so they can't work on that rich guy's car. The man shot himself in the foot if his object was to hurry up the car.
@@davidh9638 I think it was done after one of his noon MITV segments. Note the monogram above the pocket. Its not a shirt you would wear a tie with in court. ETA its MyMI TV
Maybe he DID change his shirt. Steve's an old car buff. Perhaps he wanted to show some additional respect to the manufacturer of Batmobile replicas....and couldn't find his cape and cowl.
I live in Indiana, and I have a big problem with the fact that the LEO's from California conducted the physical search. I fully understand that they had a local LEO and a search warrant from a local judge, but I believe that the locally issued search warrant should have been served and executed by Indiana LEO's. The officers from California have NO official powers in Indiana.
I was wondering the same thing. Only the local officer should be allowed to search the premises. The other officers are trespassing and have no juristication.
I LIVE IN OAKLAND CALIFORNIA AND I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU. THIS IS A TYPICAL LIBERAL FASCIST HOLIER THAN THOU HILLBILLY ABUSE OF JUSTICE!!! THE HYPOCRISY OF THESE MODERN DAY "NEW" MONEY!!!
From my understanding, the buyer was in breach of contract by failing to make a payment on time. This moved him to the back of the line while other customers were moved up. After the fact, the buyer made his payment late and demanded to be moved up to the front again but the seller refused. As a judge or juror, if it comes to that, if all this is true, I would find in favor of the seller.
And ... the seller offered to refund the buyers deposit but the buyer refused & took this extra-legal approach. Someone is acting very privileged in this case.
@@GM8101PHX Sounds like he got his money from Daddy and was never told no. And at this point, he should get a refund, less damages, and be told he's not a client they care to do business with, because he'll certainly bitch about the delivered car and try to get it for free.
Thank you Steve for talking to Mark Racop and getting the story out. I have known Mark for 40 years and have been through his shop with him and it's awesome to see. You will be hard pressed to find anyone more honest and pleasant than Mark. This is an outrageous thing they're doing and it's going to cost him time from his shop and money he doesn't have. It would be nice if the expenses were ordered to be paid by the sheriff department and or the rich cry baby but we know that won't happen so we need to do a go fund me and help Mark out.
The news station that ran the story has an update. This story is gonna cost that lame duck sheriff and the DA's office. Lawyers must be lining up to represent the good gent.
Here's hoping that the builder gets to keep all funds and no longer has to deliver the Batmobile. Every officer, DA, and sheriff involved should be held accountable for this clear abuse of power.
I really hope after this innocent victim.wins in his day in court.that he takes all parties responsible to civil court.and makes them pay a steep price. And that every official who is complacent.(definitely the poor sport who started all this) get the professional , Public reaction and financial ramifications. They so richly deserve.
How could he not, considering they kidnapped him, took money from him, humiliated him, then locked him up in a cage. Who knows what virus's and animals they have in there. All this sounds like Gotham.
I worked at Barris Kustom with my father back in the 70s. He was the shop manager there for quite a few years. When I started working there we had 3 Batmobiles, the original and two fiberglass knockoffs. George would rent them out for events all over the U.S. All of those care were in pretty rough shape back then. I took a look at some photos of the cars this guy is building and I was impressed. He really is doing some very impressive work building those cars. While I worked there we had one of the fiberglass Batmobiles "Flocked" with black fuzz because the body and paint were in rough shape and that fuzz hid that, and it was a cool new thing back then. It was a strange process. You sprayed glue all over the car body and then hooked a negative DC electric cable to the body of the car and then shook a basket full of fuzz that had a positive charge connected to it all over the body of the car and the fuzz would fly right to the car and stand up on end. After the glue dried the fuzz was like a very short and fine coat of fur. It was fuzzy! Truth is, all those original Batmobiles were slapped together. They were not the same as custom cars we built for clients. Cars for movies and TV shows were all "quick and dirty" jobs.
The buyer in California missed a 20K payment, so he had to go to the back of the line, and it sounds like the guy called him a favor with the California sheriff because he got pissed
@@willardlentz3044 It seems you don't understand what the word "communist" means. As the reality is, the douche RE guy is an example of a predatory Capitalist - one who thinks that his money and influence allows him to be the BIG DOG and steamroll anyone in his path. Nothing "communist" about that...
I live across the Bay from there. I've ridden through that town on bicycle rides with the club. Sheriff's friend is a real estate agent in maybe the wealthiest town in the US, Atherton. Mark Zuckerberg and many other live in that county. The station yesterday covered the County Supervisor's meeting where answers are being demanded for the taxpayer money spent for this. Three of the people got overtime for around $3,000 for the trip. All expenses so far are over $10,100, and the station is looking for the meal receipts. "Racop says the investigators from California told his workers to leave, turned away delivery people, took him to the local jail for an hour, but let him go." I'm wondering how law enforcement from California can tell Indiana workers to leave, and not just stay out of the way outside. There's a push for an oversight committee in that county with subpoena power over the Sheriff and an IG office over past events.
When anyone with a badge and a gun tells you to leave under color of law, you do it. There's not much you can do when the blue gang shows up. Fight the fight later with lawyers.
Feels like someone is going to corpse them for being assumed criminals when doing these bold intrusions. Then get off under reasonable self defense. In this case though I’ve heard an Indiana local sheriff also escorted them. They acted as little more than a process server in the beginning.
They had a local Indiana detective with them. What I find troubling is that Indiana local cops just seem to have accepted these California cops executing a warrant issued by California and not Indiana.
The DA in San Francisco canceled the hearing. He was watching the news report in San Francisco and has decided he needs to get more information. Since he believes based off what he has heard in the news reports. That the case needs to be in a civil court in Indiana.
I'm so glad you got the opportunity to talk to Mark! He's a great guy and definitely an expert on all things Batmobile, as you've noted by his attention to detail in the replicas that he builds.
I saw a news program from California which showed the citizens of the City of San Mateo are livid about the expense of sending the four deputies to Indiana. There was an immediate demand for answers as to why they were sent to the shop when it should have been a civil case in Indiana. The news program was called the I- team I believe. Their freedom of info request showed it cost nearly $10,000 to send them there and so far that was before the meal costs.
It was from the same TV station Steve mentioned (KGO ABC7 in San Francisco), as that was an EXCLUSIVE of theirs. Their YT Channel is "ABC7 News Bay Area" and any update would certainly be published in their YT Channel, as they're on top of that story for viewers outside of their broadcasting area.
Not City of San Mateo, but County of San Mateo. Sheriffs are elected in counties. Cities in California have police chiefs and officers. San Francisco is the exception because it is the City and County of San Francisco.
Geez they could have just jumped in a police cruiser and drove there and back for a couple hundred, spend the night at a motel 6 and they are set. Wow, 10k?!?
Baris sold the original Batmobile at Mecum auctions in 2013. There were two older guys fighting over it, they finally settled who was going to buy it by playing (if I remember correctly) rock, paper, scissors. It sold for over $4M.
I did watch that Mecum Auctions episode and I also thought that one of the prospective winners was actually going to park the batmobile in his house if he won it.
@@mouser485 At a 2007 Scottsdale auction, after the last authenticated Ramchargers (a former drag racing team that had been staffed by Chrysler Corporation employees) race car had been sold for $300,000, owner David Clabuesch accused the auction company Barrett-Jackson of ending the auctioneering prematurely, resulting in a lower than expected sale price. After the sale, Barrett-Jackson sued Clabuesch for "outrageous and defamatory actions," including chaining the car's wheels at the auction tent and putting up a sign calling its sale "void". On January 10, 2008, Barrett-Jackson announced a settlement had been reached three days earlier. In the settlement, Clabuesch exonerated Barrett-Jackson of all allegations filed in the suit. 2008….2022 the more things change the more things stay the same?
Cool that your friend saw a replica and was convinced it was the original. But NOBODY is ever going to see a replica in San Mateo County, CA now and not know that it is the one owned by an entitled deadbeat buyer from Atherton.. That one will have the official designation of the Karenmobile.
@@lennym1273 Someone said he has a real estate company, so if nobody uses him he might go bust. Let's see if all this publicity bites him in the ass 😂.
This is funny. I wonder how often this guy will drive out to the store after bringing home the bacon only to find that he's gotten a dozen eggs for free each time?
Steve, you're a good guy, even if you are a lawyer. You do us a great public service by focusing on these current news stories and some possible legalities involved. It gives us non lawyers a glimpse into the world of laws and the legal system, something that affects each and every one of us. You seem like a fair person with lots of common sense, you would make a great judge. Thank you.
This makes me think of the Hatfield-McCoy feud where one judge was arresting people from another state. States and citizens don't take kindly to other states encroaching on their jurisdiction. We should feel safe in our own state from another state, and our state should protect us. We live in the state we live in because of the values and laws there and we don't live in another state because we don't agree with theirs. Don't come here and force your crap on us.
all well and good eh, except ONE californicate sheriff decides hes ABOVE AND EXEMPT from all those shoulds and niceties. this aint gonna end in a nice way for mr sheriff-buddy-of-a-petulant-impatient-rich-boy
@@daskritterhaus5491 it SHOULDN'T end in a nice way for the sheriff from Commieforniastan, but with the way things have been going in this country lately, who knows?
Unless the sheriffs and judges in all these different jurisdictions act like that scene in The Godfather. "One day we will come to you and ask for a similar favor in return".
According to a local news station that did a FIOA request some of the expenses for the trip included $5000+ for airfare, $1272.96 for 3 nights of hotels, $427 for a rental SUV, $3000+ payment of overtime of 10 hours each for 3 of the officers. $10,142,76. Meal receipts for the 4 days still had not been provided.
@@equallawandorder5393 I can attest to the Bar bill "inclusion" to "meals". I worked at a major hotel and the Bar items would appear on the folio (receipt) as Rest B, as in Restaurant B. Some hotels have MORE than one food service area, so this could appear to be a "second" food service area.
A lot of CA gov corruption has the weak point of our extra layers of FIOA, ie. the CPRA. You can get a lot more than just amounts of money spent, but all the internal emails, text messages and such. Though often you have to go to court and file law suits get the various parts of CA gov to actually follow the law.
This is what they will use to nail the sheriff. They might get him on abuse under color of law, lying to judges to obtain the warrants, etc., but it’s the misappropriation of public funds charges that will be most clear cut and not subject to interpretation. There’s no wiggle room.
Guy put $170k down. Not paid in full. Ghosted for months, missed a $20k payment. Finally gets back in touch, pays in full. The builder put that build lower in the que. Guy got butt-hurt. Cried to anyone who would listen. Ended up calling his sheriff-friend. Kind of a iffy warrant issued. Builder accused of misappropriating construction funds.
not kind of iffy, flat out unlawful. an interstate civil matter doesn't justify this kind of response, and if it were a legitimate fruad thing, the fbi should have been involved, given it was, in fact, interstate commerce. instead they went the quiet backdoor bs route. and hopefully some of the idiots lose their jobs.
@@BlackSoap361 did you pay attention at all? Warrants for data on cloud are valid because data cloud facilities/businesses are in California. Warrant for Indiana physical search was signed by Indiana judge. Is it that hard to comprehend?
@@Inspectorzinn2 not hard to comprehend, just what they did was wrong. I don't think an Indiana judge is going to issue a search warrant to some random CA cops, so probably an Indiana cop signed an affidavit stating "personal knowledge" and "probable cause to believe" etc to get that search warrant. This was probably done on the good-ol-boy system. The CA Sheriff called the Indiana Sheriff and said "hey, can you help me out bro?" I am sure that warrant is invalid and if he gets a good attorney it will get tossed.
Just a clarification, the build was moved down the production queue after some time of no response, prior to receiving the nearly 9 months late $20K payment.
I go on vacation and come home to squatters. I call the cops. Cops come and say, "it's a civil matter. Sue them in court". (didn't happen to me, but I've heard of it happening like that). And yet this BLATANT civil issue comes to this? Seriously, several people need to be in jail for this, and it's not the shop owner.
What kind of people in Indiana would allow one of their own citizens to be treated this way? What kind of cop would carry out orders like this, in California OR Indiana?
Steve, my question are it possible that when the San Mateo County Sheriffs hawed the car builder in cuffs, to jail, in what appears to be an attempt to intimidate. How can they do this without making a formal arrest? Most importantly, is this not a violation of the car builder's Constitutional 4th Amendment Rights?
I live in Cass County, my brother went to high school with the owner. I've looked around and can't find the Indiana Judge who signed off on this debacle nor the Cass Co Deputy who assisted. Our local newspaper is not tripping over Pulitzer's and unless the story is about the cutest 4-H cow, little information will be developed from there. The entire community is behind Fiberglass Freaks and it's always a treat to see a Batmobile driving around town.
Under who's "color of authority" did officers from California use an Indiana search warrant? Seems like law enforcement from both states could end up being sued and go to prison.
I understand the Indiana search warrant being issued. I question the legality of California deputies doing the actual search. Law enforcement officers from another state showing up at my business would result in a 911 call for trespassing and necessary action taken to detain them for local authority. That situation could have gotten real ugly. Hope everyone involved gets sued.
Allegedly the customer realtor in CA didn't make payments for 8 months so his build was pushed down the line. He got upset after hearing about the build delay. My question is what if he had a home buyer not make payments for 8 months what would he have done? I hope this gets thrown out and the shop owner sues the sheriff and the "friend".
Realtors have nothing to do with someone's mortgage payments. After the sale of the house has closed, the broker is done. The Batmobile buyer and every other player from the court is suspect and I hope that Mark Racop sues the lot of them.
Hopefully, one of the updates to this story will be the Appellate Courts reversed the lower courts ruling and denied Qualified Immunity for all officers involved. Active AND retired.
The guy who ordered the batmobile has a deputy guarding his house as we speak in reaction to this story (according to ABC news in SF). Even with all this heat, police resources are still at his disposal. And we wonder why people riot in the streets.
The Sheriff and the four deputies deserve prison time for abuse of power. Full- fledged prison. There are some good cops out there, but these 5 are corrupt animals. The ones that aided them in Indiana must be fired. We also need nationwide legislation forbidding anyone from obtaining any law enforcement position anywhere in the country once corruption has been proven.
See how many cops agree with you on having all 5 of these officers thrown in jail. Find me 1. IF they're OK with other cops doing this, they're not good cops bud.
The fact that Indiana officials were present to serve an Indiana search warrant in Indiana is tentatively legal. Taking him against his will to the police station was probably not legal since there seems to be no legal cause to do so. But criminal charges in California require that a perpetrator perform an act contrary to California law WHILE IN California.
Yeah, no way around that "while in California" bit. Does the State of California now control Indiana territory? State lines are no longer limits of jurisdiction?
Steve: Another great video. I'm a retired Idaho investigator. I did several out-of-state search warrants. All were issued locally and the affidavit was primarily done by a local officer with my affidavit as an addendum. But during the search, I was ALWAYS an observer. Not a search participant. I can't believe an out-of-state officer can seize evidence during the execution of a warrant. Perhaps the local guy logged it sounds like the actual search probably crossed a legal line. As you know, a warrant allows officers to enter a residence or business but it •doesn't• allow someone that isn't accredited to enter.
STEVE is still trying to determine whether the California warrant, assuming there is one, was issued properly, and second, whether the warrant was properly executed in Indiana, either by actual execution of the California warrant or by hooking it up with an Indiana warrant and service. There’s just a lot we don’t know yet, because all the lawyers and the sheriff are being mum. That will change.
“Nobody ever 100% agrees with me on anything including something like water is good for you…. Until now.” Legend Awesome coverage and outstanding quick follow up. Also love that the city council in the CA country involved is pissed and asking questions. Everyone is spun up over the Batmobile is not something I would have guessed made the top 1,000 news items this year, and it’s in the top ten or so?
He probably didn't forget to feed the cat, since I didnt hear any end-of-the-world yowling in the backround; no cat will ever let you forget to feed it.
We came to the US in the mid 70's. One of my earliest memories at our first home (an apartment) was me and my sister standing against a metal railing. I still remember standing there holding a metal batmobile hotwheel. We still have the photo.
So the sequence of events is that someone placed an order with a small company that makes unique items to order. The person who made the order stopped making the agreed payments and the company had no choice but to continue it's business of building unique items for paying customers... What reasonable person (buyer, sheriff, judge, prosecutor etc) expects a company to put everything on hold for one customer? Especially when that customer defaults on payments? They continued producing the items they produce to satisfy the paying customers while waiting for the defaulter to make contact. The defaulter got in contact, made entitled demands, overpaid and settled the full amount, then got upset that during his period of default the company continued to function to provide it's products to decent people who maintained their payments. Now the defaulter is bottom of the waiting list. The overly entitled defaulter couldn't cope with not getting his own way and decided to lash out and commission people to harm the person producing the product. Even though the person he'd paid to produce the item was still going to complete the job, but was going to take longer to fulfill the order because the defaulter took longer to make the payments. And the defaulter believes they have a case... Why?
My thought when the original video came out, Did the guy expect to be moved back to front of list since he payed in full? Was that agreed on or was he just mad your not getting your status moved back to the front of the line?
Yeah, guy claims the Builder broke their contract, but I'm pretty sure rich guy is the one who broke the contract when he defaulted on his payments for 8 months...
@@thea.m.p.co.467 Sad part is......money almost always wins. He will just use his resources to try to put this guy out of business through frivolous lawsuits this guy can't afford (time or money) to keep up with.
Thanks for answering the questions about the warrants and the participation of the local Indiana deputy. It's interesting that they detained the man and took him to an interrogation room. That seems way over the top. And how does one "serve" a warrant without actually providing the entire warrant?
I've come to a conclusion in this story in that the buyer is using his understanding of real estate and issues as such related to building construction and allegedly applied building construction misappropriation of construction funds to the car he's wanting to buy. Let's not forget that he seemed to have missed a few payments in finalizing his car's construction in a timely manner.
Late payments on the car and zero contact for MONTHS from the buyer. So he simply moved the buyer's car to the back of the line. But go look at just the pictures of Sam Anagnostou, and you can tell he's the kind of douche who would do something like this.
Agreed, I think you nailed it perfectly, Pat Bubba. If you work in real estate or construction management long enough, and are willing to learn, eventually, you will be dealing with issues like property rights, waivers, liens, contracts, schedules, impacts, progress payments... It seems that knowing some of that gives the buyer a leg up, particularly if he is willing to lie about the payment delays that he caused. If I had a dollar for every client who impacted a schedule and caused delay, but ignored those provisions of the contract and still insisted on making the deadlines, I would have... a lot of dollars.
@@dimitriosfotopoulos3689 wouldn’t the subpoena’d show the shop trying to contact him. This is wild. I expect this guy to lose but not much happen to anyone else. So aggravating.
@@danegerous24 I just remembered one of those joke signs that charge a $15.00 free for dealing with obnoxious customers. I kind of think that the owner of fiberglass freaks may consider getting one now, or put something of a similar bent as a new clause in his hopefully soon to be updated or newly created purchase contracts.
That is some dedication to his viewers not even taking time to change his shirt even when it is part of his channels charm the interesting shirts he wears.
I grew up Far North Queensland (FNQ), a very rural part of Australia in the 60's. My friends and I were huge fans of the TV show Batman and Robin. We were gob smacked when we found out the Batmobile was on a promotional tour and was on display in one of the larger regional towns. Ofcourse we pested our parents to the point where they agreed to take us to see it. I remember that it was very imposing vehicle.
I don't think a judge has to issue a warrant i thought it was mostly the DA. A DA that told them it wouldnt be valid. Maybe in CA a sheriff has that power.
@@davidh9638 ok wait I'm saying arrest warrant not search warrant. But even for the search warrant they may have been furnished fraudulent information.
Steve, I’m one of those ‘60s kids who thought the Bat Mobile was the greatest among the great body of ‘60s TV show cars. There was the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty, the Monkey Mobile, the Munster Mobile and let’s not forget Dragula. What a great time to be getting your drivers license!
Thank you for the update. I watched a TH-cam this morning from a local TV station in California. The county is outraged out there and demanding answers.
I little more to the story I saw last night was, the guy in California missed some payments. The builder moved him down in the queue to work on other cars. Dude in California called his buddy, the Sheriff and it spiraled from there.
Thank you - this the piece of the story that seems to be missing. After reading your comment I searched a bit more and confirmed your statement along with the shop owner also stating that he had unsuccessfully attempted to contact the California complainant.
@@MichaelDawson03 Thanks. I didn’t intend to imply that it was missing only here. Before even seeing this episode of Lehto I had caught a few articles and vid clips elsewhere that didn’t make any mention of the origins of the dispute. After reading Valor’s comment I searched some more and finally found a couple mentions about the customer missed payments and hadn’t been reachable. When it’s clear that the customer wasn’t cheated out of anything, merely lost a position on the delivery list, then the context becomes abundantly more clear of this being pure harassment for personal reasons at taxpayer expense.
When a normal person calls the cops for something like this, they are told to get a lawyer and pursue it in civil courts. I wonder how much the plane tickets cost to fly those cops to Indiana?
Airfare, hotel and rental cars cost around $10,400. I think they spent 3 days in Indiana. There’s a vid somewhere that has all the costs except for cost of meals.
I understand the buyer fell behind in payments, then paid the full amount, and was upset he'd been bumped down the queue, so this crazy action happened.
I remember when I was a young boy seeing the Batmobile in around 1966 it was parked outside the Kennady apt.'s in Lawndale Ca. As I remember, Adam West was living there it was like a PR move to get people to watch the Series.
I've heard of Judges like this that my dad used to work with in Orlando when he was a traffic officer there and if a judge with that much integrity gets this case in court he will apologize profusely to the gentleman from Indiana. If he has a spec of Integrity he will take every officer that was sent to Indiana including the sheriff from that County and put them in jail for at least a week for contempt of court. It's not like every one of them doesn't deserve it. And the idiot that signed the warrant in Indiana because his name got drug into it he had to put that Deputy in jail for swearing out a false warrant. And then make either the sheriff and possibly those officers in California pay the man for having cost him at least a day's work. Perhaps several days. But it's hard to find that kind of Integrity even in the judicial system anymore. The one story I remember the most that my dad told me was that he was in traffic court one day and an officer came in with the mirrored aviator sunglasses and he sat through the entire case about these people that he claimed were speeding and all that they were saying no you you misread something and they went through the entire case and then he found the people not responsible. And the officer says what's going on? The judge in open court said if you ever wear those glasses in my courtroom again you are going straight to jail I cannot see your eyes I cannot tell whether you're telling the truth because that's part of how I judge whether or not someone is telling the truth. Besides that it's disrespectful to the court. This entire fiasco, because they have inculated the court in a dealing which they already know should have been handled a different way have completely disregarded the court and they somehow convince some idiot in Indiana to play along with them.
The judge in Indiana that issued the warrant may have been lied too inorder for California to get the search warrant. The officers that lied to obtain the search warrant should be charged with purgery and lying under oath.
The bank and email warrants can be written and signed by any judge in any state. The paperwork given to the person being searched isn’t the full warrant, it’s the face sheet…the PC isn’t on there, usually just the location and what’s being searched for…as for the search warrant that was written in Indiana, the deputy who wrote that would have needed a lot of information to get the PC and if it wasn’t there, that deputy shouldn’t have written it period.
I saw a Batmobile in my neighborhood which is isolated north of Houston. It was going out as I was going in. Hearing how many were made helps me understand how that was possible.
Just sent a supportive email and ordered a shirt from their website. Hope this man shakes up the justice of nonsense wheel. I encourage everyone to do the same.
Steve, I have to question your throwaway comment about how the search warrant being signed by an Indiana judge and served by Indiana deputies makes it a "legal" search warrant. My understanding is that you have to have someone ATTEST to the fact that there is EVIDENCE to be sought after and collected (if found) as the basis for a warrant. Lacking this testimonial support, this is the very definition of a fishing expedition, it seems to me.
I know Mark through local conventions in Indiana. He sometimes does panels where he'll go over the process of how he makes the cars, and the attention to detail he and the others put into these is remarkable. It's always a treat when he actually brings a car to a convention so you can get an up close look and even get a picture. I really hope this whole thing gets dismissed and we get some answers about how it was allowed to happen in the first place.
I want to know why those California officers haven't been arrested yet. They were WAY out of jurisdiction, meaning everything they did was not only illegal, but was criminal. The state of Indiana needs to file a warrant for their arrest and extradition to be prosecuted in Indiana.
I understand what you're saying but I don't hold the four officers that did the traveling responsible for following the orders of their Superior who could have them fired if they didn't do his bidding. I suspect that this type of action of Interstate cooperation is not uncommon but I also believe it usually has a much more solid case than this one. Now I do believe the sheriff should be arrested for misappropriation of funds and held personally responsible, along with his buddy, for the thousands of dollars of misappropriated funds from San Mateo. And as I said in another post, the buyer of the Batmobile replica should have his name made public. I would want to know about a person I was going to do business with if they're willing to pull this kind of trick on a legitimate businessman.
@@mikeslater6246 - No. If their boss says go shoot my neighbor because the boss doesn't like him, should they obey so they won't get fired? That's not how the law works. You don't obey illegal orders. Period. If you do, then you need to be prepared to suffer the consequences.
@@need100k come on, you've got to be kidding with that example. Steve himself said, or at least implied, in one or maybe both of his videos on this subject that there are processes between states that could easily allow this to be legal. And I can very easily see how a sheriff who would do this in the first place would fire the people who refused to do his bidding in these circumstances. It has been revealed that this sheriff is a lame duck civil servant who was recently voted out of office and will leave in January. What I suggested is easily plausible!
@@mikeslater6246 They agreed to commit several federal felony crimes to avoid losing their job. Sounds like just the kind of people we need enforcing the law... smh
As your subscribers go up your ability to help people in these situations will increase. As a matter of fact, I have watched several of your videos and this is the one that made me subscribe.
Thanks for the update Steve. You do a wonderful job of explaining these cases. It’s nice to know I can watch your channel and get a clear understanding of these crazy events without the media’s slant, bias or narrative attached to it. I know in your videos you often include news coverage but, you present it based on the facts to the best of your ability. I can tell you that I highly appreciate that and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
By the time the lawsuits are done there is going to be one very rich car builder and I'm wondering about criminal charges for the San Mateo deputies in Indiana for kidnapping, assault, and a host of other felonies.
@@davidh9638 unless it can be proven the warrant was obtained using information the officer provided was knowingly false, but good luck getting that proof
The Deputy from IN is going to be covered by you know what since to all intents and purposes they were given what appeared to be valid documents. Still way messed up.
@@Mike_Dubayou They only have QI in the state they are certified in and when they leave that state they by law, private citizens. It doesn't matter who ordered them or who signed what piece of paper once they left California they became a gang.
For years (decades?) the Batmobile was parked outside at George Barris' shop next to the Hollywood Freeway (I think that was the freeway). And every day hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles commuters would drive by a parking lot filled with classic 60's TV cars.
Sometime in the 1980's, I had attended a car auction in northern Illinois. The two big featured cars in the auction were a gull wing Mercedes and a Batmobile, which I think was billed as the "original," but I'm not sure. I believe it sold for $90,000.
He needs to contact the FBI for civil rights violations! And sue the local police officers as well as the California police! California has some of the best electronic privacy laws. Sounds like a lot of corrupt cops backscratching. Corrupt police officers make honest police officers look bad! We need a form of law and order in this country but when corruption is exposed it needs to be cut out like cancer.
the local law officers were just serving a warrant but the Californian officers should bein asking question before leaving the Californian judges that signed the warrants need to be looked at also.
Thank you for explaining all of this craziness of an "entitled" spoiled wealthy person who obviously had a corrupt sheriff in his hip pocket(wonder how?). Hopefully this will root another example of taxpayer fleecing for personal/monetary reasons under the color of law.
Growing up on Long Island in the 60s a neighbor of ours bought the production release. It was the coolest car for miles around. He worked for Grumman Aerospace at the time and would mention the LEM a lot.
Bob Butts made the perfect replica of the Batmobile George Barris was so impressed he Autographed the Dash. It Was built by hand to the highest standard on a 1977 lincoln town car Specially fabricated parts are combined with top-shelf automotive components to create a car that remains true to the original - and then improves on it.
I have actually seen the "real" one regularly, it was sold at Barrett-Jackson a few years ago for 4.2m. The owner lives in the Phoenix area (not too far away!) and does take it out.
The question I got is. If this raid is deemed illegal, wouldn’t it make both sheriffs office liable and if so where would he file a lawsuit against the California sheriff department and officers?
Not true, there is no immunity for a LEO who is not in jurisdiction. Local DA should file charges for the California individuals involved. Being a cop in one state gives you no legal protection in another state not certified in. At minimum some people need to be fired or reprimanded. Please stick it to them, Sincerely, California Resident
I looked up the definition and “lynching” a couple of years ago out of curiosity. It started with a Judge Lynch who used his position illegally. If I remember correctly he jailed some rivals for about a year. It isn’t just about mobs who harm or kill people without the legal authority to do so. It seems to me that many of those who have blocked anti-lynching bills since the first one was written by a black Republican are people like that sheriff. Use their position to break laws and often get away with it because of laws that protect them.
This case has fascinated me because I knew George Barris, and live not that far from the shop that he had in North Hollywood which was more of a museum. George was one of the most unassuming people you'd ever meet, very humble and did old school "cut and paste" when making flyers etc. He would not use a computer. He would sit at his desk with the Batmobile in front of him making flyers for various car shows or whatever event he was involved with at the time using pinstripe stickers and pictures he would cut and paste and put in place, it was interesting to watch this guy who was incredibly wealthy by any standard sit down in a T-shirt and shorts just clipping out advertisements. Hollywood lost a legend when George died. He worked on mini movie cars, and ran a cool little side business for enthusiasts by providing them things like the original knight rider nose, etc.
The search warrant was issued by the Cass Circuit Court in Indiana, I'm sure following the issuance of a warrant in California. There is a whole process for "domesticating" a foreign warrant, but generally speaking, if a warrant issues from another state and has all the earmarks of being genuine, "full faith and credit" applies, though the judge in Indiana still has to ensure that it meets Indiana requirements.
I can't imagine an honest judge in Indiana allowing this though. How can a warrant from California be issued for an alleged crime that did not occur in California? This whole incident stinks of corruption...
@@markdarragh6620 I don't think you understand how domestication of foreign warrants work. Also, while this does not seem to be a crime, people can commit crime remotely in other states easily. If someone falls for an internet or telephone fraud, do you really think it's not a crime in the state of the victim even if the perp has never been there? It's not the Indiana Judge's job to decide guilt or innocence or even proper venue when presented with an out-of-state warrant. He evaluates the requisites for issuance of a warrant. Period.
Absolutely everybody in that county in California needs to make the current DA know that if when the evidence comes out, there isn't enough to convict, that he/sh will be voted out in the next election. This kind of thing cannot be let go.
Thank you Steve for covering this. I can’t wait to hear the future update on this whole shady incident. Looks like a whole lot of violations on the part of the police agencies. Great work as usual.
If you visit Mark’s shop, you’ll be welcomed, and get the full history while you marvel at the construction and attention to detail. Mark is a great guy, and doesn’t deserve to be harassed by an entitled. Infantile adult that wants his toy now.
The guy missed making payment and wasn't heard from for eight months, so he got moved to the bottom of the list. Then pays in full and expects immediate delivery for basically a one off custom fabricated car? How was this information overlooked by a seasoned sheriff? I think the dirty sheriff, even on his way out the door, needs to be held accountable.
Absolutely. Should be charged with Gross Misuse of Office.
Also, the licensed real estate broker who engaged in public corruption should be investigated by the BRE.
@@946towguy2 BRE?
This man needs to mature. His arrogance is amazing and not in a good way.
@@sandrajones2262 BRE ? Could this be some kind of Board of Realtors?
I cannot wait until the dust settles and as per usual, no one is held accountable for this gross misuse of power.
Exactly! 💯
That is how the left works in commufornia
Well, the Sheriff did lose his last election.
@@duncanluciak5516 And we know why. I'd say some cuss words about him, but don't want to sully the comment section.
lolz
I'm still trying to wrap my head around a California Sheriff did all this as a favor for a friend and somehow got 3 different judges to sign off for it. The Sheriff is, literally, working overtime with this mind-boggling abuse of power.
Web of corruption
You can shop around for a court, when it comes to online stuff, that's a real problem.
abuse of power = Sheriff, just ask Adam Fortney about his abusive rehires
Don't be, I once lived in San Mateo County, this ain't the worst.
Literally, I'll bet. And I'll bet he's taking money from the taxpayers for the overtime. Overtime fraud is an extremely common crime among US police.
As a resident of San Mateo county I am embarrassed that our outgoing sheriff has indulged an inappropriate investigation, and I am angry that he wasted several thousand dollars flying some deputies across the country and putting them up for a few nights.
Kind of why he wasn't re-elected.
Same I'm embarrassed for my county
He should still be held accountable for malfeasance !!
He and all involved should be held accountable!!! This poor guy, Recop, has a felony charge on his record forever now (they never drop off regardless of conviction)! Too bad there is not a criminal charge that applies to the DA in San Mateo, The sheriff AND his deputies (a LT, Sergent and 2 deputies) and the LAw enforcement in Indiana!!
21 years ago I was in the Barris shop. The secretary took my 10 year old to show her something while I was talking to George. She returned without my daughter and says I’ll take you to her. As we came around the corner she was sitting in the original Batmobile. Was one of the coolest moments of my life. George was kind enough to meet with some tourist from ND out of the blue.
Jealous... awesome story
I’ll bet a million that was NOT the original Bat Mobile!! But I would not say that in front of the kid!
George was the face of the shop, his brother was the fabricator and was their builder. Also George wasn't above claiming other people's work, like Dean Jefferies " Monkey mobile " that George said he built.
WHOA!!!
I bet that she will never forget that moment for the rest of her life!!!
I WOULDN'T!!!
Some cops and judges need jail time over this.
Don't forget the DA.
Call the bat 🦇 phone ☎️ right away
Sadly, this will never happen. Their abuse is very protected.
@@JurgenADV that’s what they tell you, but it’s untrue.
Look up Nifong as an example.
@@spaceracer23 And the entitled real estate dude.
Steve, one important detail of this story you explained in your first video was how the irresponsible California jerk who ordered the Batmobile fell behind on his payments. Thusly, this jerk was solely responsible for being dropped to the back end of the delivery schedule. It turns out this jerk who thinks he can ignore his responsibilities without consequences has a friend that seems to have a similar personality and is also a local Sheriff. When you find out some of theses details please lay them on us. That’s the story we are dying to know more about, an abusive sheriff attacking and bullying an innocent citizen as a favor for an a$$whole buddy of his. Let’s focus on that color-of-law abuse (when you find out the details) and let this story gain altitude. Thank you for covering this story and please keep us up to date as you learn more.
Not only did he fall behind his payment, the builder got no response from the buyer for 8 months, that is why his car was put in the back of the line.
When the buyer finally showed up and paid it off, he was told due to the delay and other models in the process of being built, that he had to wait for it to be finished.
That was all mentioned when he first covered the story. "Update" implies the existence of other videos that you should watch before commenting about information not contained in this video.
This is just an update. Steve made a previous video on this topic which covers everything you mentioned.
Builder should return the money and say fuck off you’re not getting a car
The sheriff was voted out of office and will be done at the end of the year. He is also on a month long vacation and can not be contacted.. The buyer is also out of the country on vacation he claims that he will sit down for an interview when he returns next week.. .. The city council has agreed to investigate.. That is what is being reported in the San Mateo area.. Also see comment below...
It's been reported that tax payers in CA are asking the local board members for answers. The tax payers are on the hook for 10k in expensing so far, and they want answers. This case is going to get really interesting
10k so far. They still haven't seen the meal receipts.
it just exposes what everyone already knows about politicians and law enforcement, they are corrupt for the right friends or price.
violations of public trust should carry double the sentencing, maybe it would discourage those who seek office for their own benefit(and their friends)
How about legal fees.
Isn't Indiana one of the states where California doesn't allow public funds to be used for travel? Pretty sure this isn't one of the exceptions to that prohibition.
A video posted about it, "San Mateo Co. residents demand answers after Indiana Batmobile garage raid"
As reported, the CA officials actions are deplorable. However, the Sheriff in IN need to be held accountable as well.
Was she/he doing a favor too?
How about the IN judge?
Is it a requirement to provide the car builder a full copy of the warrant . . . to be valid?
Seems like sloppy LE good-ol-boys network exposed by a spoiled brat.
Who’s the spoiled brat in this scenario? I’ve seen a couple people mention a spoiled brat or person but never in a matter of fact way of whom they were speaking of.
Now if you mean the rich idiot in CA that originally ordered and started all this BS, I would fully agree with you and would go so far as to say his arse should be sued for all the pain and suffering he has caused the auto maker. And everyone else involved in this case, every cop, judge, prosecutor and anyone else that had absolutely anything to do with this should all be fired, disbarred, decertified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law! Or maybe just send Batman after each and everyone of them for corruption!
@@tim.wilson839 Civil rights violations across the board!!
@@pierremihatov3483 Yes, but there might be some criminal charges that could be added in there also depending on how the case went.
@@tim.wilson839 Yes, the car buyer.
That wanted the car Niw! Now! Now!
Mark is a personal friend of mine and I just want to say that Mark does not deserve this kind of treatment from the guy in California. He is a man of great character and an all around great guy. Thank you for posting this video.
mark need to hire a good lawyer and sue all of them sheriff and the guy
@@JohnDoe-do5me Agreed
Tell Mark he has my support from Nevada. Can't do a lot, but he's in my prayers that he succeeds.
@@jalopywrench You bet
I believe you he seem like a decent person god bless him
Mark Racop is absolutely a lovely -- and honest -- human being, I knew him back when he was building his first Batmobile. He was extremely meticulous with every little detail and measurement, his work is terrific. He doesn't deserve any of this.
Never mind. Now many know now where to get batmobiles
It's sickening , what is happening to this poor guy. Sickening
@@talkingjoseph5582 I heard they go for $200G per. All things considered, that's a very fair price.
If Mr. Racop can refuse the sale, and give a partial refund (covering his expenses so far, including legal), he should. That way the rich twat will never get his dream car. Batman would approve.
He obviously broke some sort of law (duh).
Sheriff knew nothing would happen by doing this, since he was on his way out....
But I guarantee he didn't expect the story to blow up like this
I have known cops who were absolutely worthless. An embarrassment.
Yes he did, that's why he went on vacation BEFORE this was news.
Stop letting pigs off those sheriff know what going on and I am
Sure he is getting kick back
Even the citizens (except 2) in San Mateo County are angry about this event. So much so, that the County supervisors are investigating both the DA & Sheriff's office.
All proceedings have stoped and the sam Mateo board of supervisors wants answers from the sheriff
The female prosecutor that was in the original video is under investigation
@@Watchingyou-daily It's rare but I have a feeling that people in the DA's office and in the sheriff's office will be answering questions to some with a badge .
I lived in SMC, this really ain't shit!
@@Watchingyou-daily she should be, SMC is beyond corrupt.
There needs to jail time for the sheriff and the DA and possibly the judge depending on what they were told.
@jimmy jam..makes one wonder just how many law enforcement people this CA real estate 'tycoon' contributed to in their elections? Were they ALL returning 'favors'?
@@2ndchance431 law enforcement including judges in the U.S. needs to be cleaned out.
When you are dealing with an automobile custom builder, restorer, or race shop fabricator this is a common practice.
You give the shop a down payment for the work you specify, and as more work is needed you get another bill to pay for parts and labor still needed going forward.
If you do not pay, all work stops on your build and they move onto projects that are paid for and get them out the door until you pay them what is needed.
No custom fabricator is going to front the money out of his own pocket for a build he might get stiffed on when the customer gets the final bill, sticking him with a car that maybe no one else wants to buy when he sells it trying to recoup what the shop has in it.
You pay as you go or your build goes nowhere.
So does the car look like it's anywhere near ~80% done to you? Given that 170k out of 210k was paid?
No? I guess at least you got 29 other Lemmings to like your post 😁
@@destaccado Tell me you absolutely nothing about fabricating without telling me you know absolutey nothing about fabricating.
Tell me, what part of the payment is the fabricator's profit? It comes out of the down payment.
You get paid first, not last pal. In case some jerk stiffs you, you take your profit first from the down payment or else there is no profit left to be had.
The rest of the job the customer paid for, so no loss to the shop owner.
@@destaccado I've known Mark for 30 years and ridden in two of the Batmobiles. Since you have no idea what work is involved in building one, I'd suggest not sounding like a complete idiot in case people mistake you for one.
You might grasp that there are several stages--mechanical, body, and detail among them, and there are parts that take weeks and parts that take minutes.
Also, at any given time, there are 6 cars in the shop in various stages from recently acquired chassis to complete vehicle.
@@mzmadmike I don't give a shit if you're his twin brother. The 1/1/2017 contract he signed with the buyer said that the car was estimated to be done 06/30/2018. That's exactly 1.5 years. The supposed missed payment for 20k? Right around the 3 year mark.
Your buddy's been sued before for basically the same thing and had to settle.
It's now 8/22/2022 - ~5 years and 8 months from the contract, ~2 years and 8 months from the supposed missed payment, and ~2 years from the car being paid in full. In spite of all that - he's still sitting on someone else's 210k and using silly excuses about 20k as to why it isn't even close to finished.
The probable reason for all the problems? He apparently gave an absolute bullshit delivery timeline to a customer. A customer who also claimed in court that Mark actually sold his car for 300k to someone else.
Let's see how highly you speak about him when he's holding up to 210k of your money for damn near 6 years.
No doubt the cars are hard to build, take a lot of work, and seem to be high quality when finished. You still have a legal obligation to disclose a proper estimate before taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from someone.
@@destaccado how about the fact that he has a waiting list on these cars and the guy missed his dowm payment for 8 months then when Mark said he's pushing Hua car to the end of the line thr guy then pays in full to try and make him Change his mind but he said no. There's is absolutely nothing illegal about that you puts
This begs new questions: How many civil litigators have reached out to Mark Racop to help take a bite out of Sam Anagnostou (the rich Californian whose hobby is buying expensive things) and Sheriff Carlos Bolanos for using the justice system to vengefully harass Racop? How many new Batmobiles have been ordered due to all the free publicity? I hope Fiberglass Freaks gets to open multiple new assembly lines. Thanks Steve for your dedication and keeping us updated!
Does anyone know if Marks bank accounts are still frozen?
This case is infuriating on so many levels. I wish I was a high powered attorney. I would represent Mark free of charge in a heartbeat.
@@charlescrosswhite4845 The last news story I heard it sounded like they are because he can't pay his staff and so they can't work on that rich guy's car. The man shot himself in the foot if his object was to hurry up the car.
Steve is so dedicated to us the viewers that he said "No time to change shirts, I must get this update video out now!". Lol good video Steve!
Took his tie off, though.
@@davidh9638 I think it was done after one of his noon MITV segments. Note the monogram above the pocket. Its not a shirt you would wear a tie with in court.
ETA its MyMI TV
Yep : )
Batman doesn't often ask for help but when he does, good citizens step in immediately.
At first I thought it was a vault video because he wasn't wearing a t-shirt. Amazing dedication!
Maybe he DID change his shirt. Steve's an old car buff.
Perhaps he wanted to show some additional respect to the manufacturer of Batmobile replicas....and couldn't find his cape and cowl.
I live in Indiana, and I have a big problem with the fact that the LEO's from California conducted the physical search. I fully understand that they had a local LEO and a search warrant from a local judge, but I believe that the locally issued search warrant should have been served and executed by Indiana LEO's. The officers from California have NO official powers in Indiana.
I was wondering the same thing. Only the local officer should be allowed to search the premises. The other officers are trespassing and have no juristication.
very disturbing to me is that the sheriff office and local judge rubber stamp the warrant without questioning it
I LIVE IN OAKLAND CALIFORNIA AND I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU. THIS IS A TYPICAL LIBERAL FASCIST HOLIER THAN THOU HILLBILLY ABUSE OF JUSTICE!!!
THE HYPOCRISY OF THESE MODERN DAY "NEW" MONEY!!!
From my understanding, the buyer was in breach of contract by failing to make a payment on time. This moved him to the back of the line while other customers were moved up. After the fact, the buyer made his payment late and demanded to be moved up to the front again but the seller refused. As a judge or juror, if it comes to that, if all this is true, I would find in favor of the seller.
And ... the seller offered to refund the buyers deposit but the buyer refused & took this extra-legal approach. Someone is acting very privileged in this case.
It sounds to me the rich guy was never taught Not to cut in line!!!! He thinks his money is everything!!!!!!
@@GM8101PHX Sounds like he got his money from Daddy and was never told no.
And at this point, he should get a refund, less damages, and be told he's not a client they care to do business with, because he'll certainly bitch about the delivered car and try to get it for free.
Thank you Steve for talking to Mark Racop and getting the story out. I have known Mark for 40 years and have been through his shop with him and it's awesome to see. You will be hard pressed to find anyone more honest and pleasant than Mark. This is an outrageous thing they're doing and it's going to cost him time from his shop and money he doesn't have. It would be nice if the expenses were ordered to be paid by the sheriff department and or the rich cry baby but we know that won't happen so we need to do a go fund me and help Mark out.
Mark does have a gofundme set up already, actually.
Those instigators from CA need to be prosecuted.
and all judges involved and the DA.
The news station that ran the story has an update. This story is gonna cost that lame duck sheriff and the DA's office. Lawyers must be lining up to represent the good gent.
I certainly HOPE SO! Get those disgusting corrupt officials!
Here's hoping that the builder gets to keep all funds and no longer has to deliver the Batmobile.
Every officer, DA, and sheriff involved should be held accountable for this clear abuse of power.
I really hope after this innocent victim.wins in his day in court.that he takes all parties responsible to civil court.and makes them pay a steep price.
And that every official who is complacent.(definitely the poor sport who started all this) get the professional , Public reaction and financial ramifications. They so richly deserve.
How could he not, considering they kidnapped him, took money from him, humiliated him, then locked him up in a cage. Who knows what virus's and animals they have in there. All this sounds like Gotham.
I worked at Barris Kustom with my father back in the 70s. He was the shop manager there for quite a few years. When I started working there we had 3 Batmobiles, the original and two fiberglass knockoffs. George would rent them out for events all over the U.S. All of those care were in pretty rough shape back then. I took a look at some photos of the cars this guy is building and I was impressed. He really is doing some very impressive work building those cars.
While I worked there we had one of the fiberglass Batmobiles "Flocked" with black fuzz because the body and paint were in rough shape and that fuzz hid that, and it was a cool new thing back then. It was a strange process. You sprayed glue all over the car body and then hooked a negative DC electric cable to the body of the car and then shook a basket full of fuzz that had a positive charge connected to it all over the body of the car and the fuzz would fly right to the car and stand up on end. After the glue dried the fuzz was like a very short and fine coat of fur. It was fuzzy!
Truth is, all those original Batmobiles were slapped together. They were not the same as custom cars we built for clients. Cars for movies and TV shows were all "quick and dirty" jobs.
The buyer in California missed a 20K payment, so he had to go to the back of the line, and it sounds like the guy called him a favor with the California sheriff because he got pissed
Also an 8 month period without any contact, back of the line is to be expected
bingo!
@@davidclarke6329 Not that entitled communist.
@@willardlentz3044 It seems you don't understand what the word "communist" means. As the reality is, the douche RE guy is an example of a predatory Capitalist - one who thinks that his money and influence allows him to be the BIG DOG and steamroll anyone in his path. Nothing "communist" about that...
Too rich & busy to make a payment - Boo Hoo!!
I live across the Bay from there. I've ridden through that town on bicycle rides with the club. Sheriff's friend is a real estate agent in maybe the wealthiest town in the US, Atherton. Mark Zuckerberg and many other live in that county. The station yesterday covered the County Supervisor's meeting where answers are being demanded for the taxpayer money spent for this. Three of the people got overtime for around $3,000 for the trip. All expenses so far are over $10,100, and the station is looking for the meal receipts. "Racop says the investigators from California told his workers to leave, turned away delivery people, took him to the local jail for an hour, but let him go." I'm wondering how law enforcement from California can tell Indiana workers to leave, and not just stay out of the way outside. There's a push for an oversight committee in that county with subpoena power over the Sheriff and an IG office over past events.
When anyone with a badge and a gun tells you to leave under color of law, you do it. There's not much you can do when the blue gang shows up. Fight the fight later with lawyers.
Feels like someone is going to corpse them for being assumed criminals when doing these bold intrusions. Then get off under reasonable self defense. In this case though I’ve heard an Indiana local sheriff also escorted them. They acted as little more than a process server in the beginning.
They had a local Indiana detective with them. What I find troubling is that Indiana local cops just seem to have accepted these California cops executing a warrant issued by California and not Indiana.
@@davidtherwhanger6795 rewatch the video. They had a judge from Indiana issue the search warrant.
@@robertc.9503 don't have to. I jumped the gun on that one.
Everyone is like I want to buy a replica batmobile! This was great free nationwide advertising for the company!
But not everyone can afford said custom batmobile.
@@tiffanysandmeier4753 I hope it wasn't just a old timey publicity stunt.
@@chrissinclair4442 I doubt that
I might like to drive one once or twice but no i dont want one
@@lambastepirate if I was Jay Leno, or just really wealthy, I would buy one. Maybe two for both grandkids.
The DA in San Francisco canceled the hearing. He was watching the news report in San Francisco and has decided he needs to get more information.
Since he believes based off what he has heard in the news reports. That the case needs to be in a civil court in Indiana.
I'm so glad you got the opportunity to talk to Mark! He's a great guy and definitely an expert on all things Batmobile, as you've noted by his attention to detail in the replicas that he builds.
I saw a news program from California which showed the citizens of the City of San Mateo are livid about the expense of sending the four deputies to Indiana. There was an immediate demand for answers as to why they were sent to the shop when it should have been a civil case in Indiana. The news program was called the I- team I believe. Their freedom of info request showed it cost nearly $10,000 to send them there and so far that was before the meal costs.
They are correct. That is exactly the proper way to handle it.
It was from the same TV station Steve mentioned (KGO ABC7 in San Francisco), as that was an EXCLUSIVE of theirs.
Their YT Channel is "ABC7 News Bay Area" and any update would certainly be published in their YT Channel, as they're on top of that story for viewers outside of their broadcasting area.
Not City of San Mateo, but County of San Mateo. Sheriffs are elected in counties. Cities in California have police chiefs and officers. San Francisco is the exception because it is the City and County of San Francisco.
The deputies would have no authority in Indiana to raid anything. They would have to go through the local authorities.
Geez they could have just jumped in a police cruiser and drove there and back for a couple hundred, spend the night at a motel 6 and they are set. Wow, 10k?!?
Baris sold the original Batmobile at Mecum auctions in 2013. There were two older guys fighting over it, they finally settled who was going to buy it by playing (if I remember correctly) rock, paper, scissors.
It sold for over $4M.
That was televised and I saw it. Didn't know the Rock, Paper, scissors part though. That's a great ending !
Two older guys that ate Toys R Us? Where “batmobiles” WERE sold?
I did watch that Mecum Auctions episode and I also thought that one of the prospective winners was actually going to park the batmobile in his house if he won it.
For what it’s worth, it was actually a Barrett Jackson auction.
@@mouser485 At a 2007 Scottsdale auction, after the last authenticated Ramchargers (a former drag racing team that had been staffed by Chrysler Corporation employees) race car had been sold for $300,000, owner David Clabuesch accused the auction company Barrett-Jackson of ending the auctioneering prematurely, resulting in a lower than expected sale price. After the sale, Barrett-Jackson sued Clabuesch for "outrageous and defamatory actions," including chaining the car's wheels at the auction tent and putting up a sign calling its sale "void". On January 10, 2008, Barrett-Jackson announced a settlement had been reached three days earlier. In the settlement, Clabuesch exonerated Barrett-Jackson of all allegations filed in the suit.
2008….2022 the more things change the more things stay the same?
Cool that your friend saw a replica and was convinced it was the original. But NOBODY is ever going to see a replica in San Mateo County, CA now and not know that it is the one owned by an entitled deadbeat buyer from Atherton.. That one will have the official designation of the Karenmobile.
I imagine people will see if in CA, and assume it is this jerks, and vandalize it in spite
🤣🤣🤣
Someone should get the name and business of the jerk buyer and cancel him from his job, lets see how he likes it...
@@lennym1273 Someone said he has a real estate company, so if nobody uses him he might go bust. Let's see if all this publicity bites him in the ass 😂.
This is funny. I wonder how often this guy will drive out to the store after bringing home the bacon only to find that he's gotten a dozen eggs for free each time?
Steve, you're a good guy, even if you are a lawyer. You do us a great public service by focusing on these current news stories and some possible legalities involved. It gives us non lawyers a glimpse into the world of laws and the legal system, something that affects each and every one of us. You seem like a fair person with lots of common sense, you would make a great judge.
Thank you.
This makes me think of the Hatfield-McCoy feud where one judge was arresting people from another state. States and citizens don't take kindly to other states encroaching on their jurisdiction. We should feel safe in our own state from another state, and our state should protect us. We live in the state we live in because of the values and laws there and we don't live in another state because we don't agree with theirs. Don't come here and force your crap on us.
all well and good eh, except ONE californicate sheriff decides hes ABOVE AND EXEMPT from all those shoulds and niceties. this aint gonna end in a nice way for
mr sheriff-buddy-of-a-petulant-impatient-rich-boy
@@daskritterhaus5491 it SHOULDN'T end in a nice way for the sheriff from Commieforniastan, but with the way things have been going in this country lately, who knows?
Unless the sheriffs and judges in all these different jurisdictions act like that scene in The Godfather. "One day we will come to you and ask for a similar favor in return".
California plays by its own rules.
Indiana justice system did everything Cali asked. They are all in on it.
According to a local news station that did a FIOA request some of the expenses for the trip included $5000+ for airfare, $1272.96 for 3 nights of hotels, $427 for a rental SUV, $3000+ payment of overtime of 10 hours each for 3 of the officers. $10,142,76. Meal receipts for the 4 days still had not been provided.
Meals includes the Bar Bill and the room fridge ❗️
Many hotels hill combine this for the clients expense reports. ✅
@@equallawandorder5393 I can attest to the Bar bill "inclusion" to "meals". I worked at a major hotel and the Bar items would appear on the folio (receipt) as Rest B, as in Restaurant B. Some hotels have MORE than one food service area, so this could appear to be a "second" food service area.
I’d be willing to trade a weekend for $1k in over time and some boozy meals. Even if it’s to Indiana. 😅
A lot of CA gov corruption has the weak point of our extra layers of FIOA, ie. the CPRA.
You can get a lot more than just amounts of money spent, but all the internal emails, text messages and such. Though often you have to go to court and file law suits get the various parts of CA gov to actually follow the law.
This is what they will use to nail the sheriff. They might get him on abuse under color of law, lying to judges to obtain the warrants, etc., but it’s the misappropriation of public funds charges that will be most clear cut and not subject to interpretation. There’s no wiggle room.
Guy put $170k down. Not paid in full. Ghosted for months, missed a $20k payment. Finally gets back in touch, pays in full. The builder put that build lower in the que. Guy got butt-hurt. Cried to anyone who would listen. Ended up calling his sheriff-friend. Kind of a iffy warrant issued. Builder accused of misappropriating construction funds.
not kind of iffy, flat out unlawful. an interstate civil matter doesn't justify this kind of response, and if it were a legitimate fruad thing, the fbi should have been involved, given it was, in fact, interstate commerce.
instead they went the quiet backdoor bs route.
and hopefully some of the idiots lose their jobs.
A California sheriff can’t issue warrants that are valid in Indiana. The warrant wasn’t “iffy,” it was completely invalid.
@@BlackSoap361 did you pay attention at all? Warrants for data on cloud are valid because data cloud facilities/businesses are in California. Warrant for Indiana physical search was signed by Indiana judge. Is it that hard to comprehend?
@@Inspectorzinn2 not hard to comprehend, just what they did was wrong. I don't think an Indiana judge is going to issue a search warrant to some random CA cops, so probably an Indiana cop signed an affidavit stating "personal knowledge" and "probable cause to believe" etc to get that search warrant. This was probably done on the good-ol-boy system. The CA Sheriff called the Indiana Sheriff and said "hey, can you help me out bro?" I am sure that warrant is invalid and if he gets a good attorney it will get tossed.
Just a clarification, the build was moved down the production queue after some time of no response, prior to receiving the nearly 9 months late $20K payment.
I go on vacation and come home to squatters. I call the cops. Cops come and say, "it's a civil matter. Sue them in court". (didn't happen to me, but I've heard of it happening like that). And yet this BLATANT civil issue comes to this? Seriously, several people need to be in jail for this, and it's not the shop owner.
What kind of people in Indiana would allow one of their own citizens to be treated this way?
What kind of cop would carry out orders like this, in California OR Indiana?
I come home from vacation to find squatters, the gun comes out.
@@DVankeuren Yeah but do not use it. Just chase 'em off.
That is the best assessment I’ve heard yet.
Trespassing is definitely not a civil matter
Steve, my question are it possible that when the San Mateo County Sheriffs hawed the car builder in cuffs, to jail, in what appears to be an attempt to intimidate. How can they do this without making a formal arrest? Most importantly, is this not a violation of the car builder's Constitutional 4th Amendment Rights?
Is that Saint Potato ?
yes
I live in Cass County, my brother went to high school with the owner. I've looked around and can't find the Indiana Judge who signed off on this debacle nor the Cass Co Deputy who assisted. Our local newspaper is not tripping over Pulitzer's and unless the story is about the cutest 4-H cow, little information will be developed from there. The entire community is behind Fiberglass Freaks and it's always a treat to see a Batmobile driving around town.
Under who's "color of authority" did officers from California use an Indiana search warrant? Seems like law enforcement from both states could end up being sued and go to prison.
Rich people and cops, do you really think they'll go to prison?
@@ProblemChild-xk7ix It's nice to dream but no, nobody's going to prison for this nor will anyone lose their jobs.
I understand the Indiana search warrant being issued. I question the legality of California deputies doing the actual search. Law enforcement officers from another state showing up at my business would result in a 911 call for trespassing and necessary action taken to detain them for local authority. That situation could have gotten real ugly. Hope everyone involved gets sued.
@@jamesstolin3098 my thoughts exactly. I have friends in Texas who have wet dreams about this very scenario happening to them... lol....
They SHOULD be facing charges. But they won’t likely because of qualified immunity.
Allegedly the customer realtor in CA didn't make payments for 8 months so his build was pushed down the line. He got upset after hearing about the build delay. My question is what if he had a home buyer not make payments for 8 months what would he have done? I hope this gets thrown out and the shop owner sues the sheriff and the "friend".
I hope that his RE practice fails as a result.
Social media just might be the friend of the general public in this case.
Realtors have nothing to do with someone's mortgage payments. After the sale of the house has closed, the broker is done. The Batmobile buyer and every other player from the court is suspect and I hope that Mark Racop sues the lot of them.
Hopefully, one of the updates to this story will be the Appellate Courts reversed the lower courts ruling and denied Qualified Immunity for all officers involved. Active AND retired.
The guy who ordered the batmobile has a deputy guarding his house as we speak in reaction to this story (according to ABC news in SF). Even with all this heat, police resources are still at his disposal. And we wonder why people riot in the streets.
He should be paying for his own security. More evidence of his outrageous entitlement.
The Sheriff and the four deputies deserve prison time for abuse of power. Full- fledged prison. There are some good cops out there, but these 5 are corrupt animals. The ones that aided them in Indiana must be fired. We also need nationwide legislation forbidding anyone from obtaining any law enforcement position anywhere in the country once corruption has been proven.
Are there really any good cops anywhere, really?
@@jonicampbell9452 Yes. There absolutely are good cops, but our media ONLY advertises the bad.
See how many cops agree with you on having all 5 of these officers thrown in jail. Find me 1. IF they're OK with other cops doing this, they're not good cops bud.
The fact that Indiana officials were present to serve an Indiana search warrant in Indiana is tentatively legal. Taking him against his will to the police station was probably not legal since there seems to be no legal cause to do so. But criminal charges in California require that a perpetrator perform an act contrary to California law WHILE IN California.
Yeah, no way around that "while in California" bit. Does the State of California now control Indiana territory? State lines are no longer limits of jurisdiction?
My guess is they violated Indiana law by implying that they were cops in Indiana when they were not.
Steve: Another great video. I'm a retired Idaho investigator. I did several out-of-state search warrants. All were issued locally and the affidavit was primarily done by a local officer with my affidavit as an addendum. But during the search, I was ALWAYS an observer. Not a search participant. I can't believe an out-of-state officer can seize evidence during the execution of a warrant. Perhaps the local guy logged it sounds like the actual search probably crossed a legal line. As you know, a warrant allows officers to enter a residence or business but it •doesn't• allow someone that isn't accredited to enter.
Good information to know. Makes it sound like the CA officers may need a refresher training course.
@@Harry-zz2oh and the cops in Indiana for allowing it
@@Harry-zz2oh prefer indictments rather than retraining.
An update from the one person that has firsthand knowledge! I love this channel!
STEVE is still trying to determine whether the California warrant, assuming there is one, was issued properly, and second, whether the warrant was properly executed in Indiana, either by actual execution of the California warrant or by hooking it up with an Indiana warrant and service. There’s just a lot we don’t know yet, because all the lawyers and the sheriff are being mum. That will change.
As I understand it, a warrant must state exactly what they're looking for. So what were they hoping to find at his shop and did they find it?
“Nobody ever 100% agrees with me on anything including something like water is good for you…. Until now.” Legend
Awesome coverage and outstanding quick follow up.
Also love that the city council in the CA country involved is pissed and asking questions. Everyone is spun up over the Batmobile is not something I would have guessed made the top 1,000 news items this year, and it’s in the top ten or so?
Steve, such dedication. Didn't change his shirt, probably forgot to feed the cat. A man that loves his job.
LOL
He probably didn't forget to feed the cat, since I didnt hear any end-of-the-world yowling in the backround; no cat will ever let you forget to feed it.
We came to the US in the mid 70's. One of my earliest memories at our first home (an apartment) was me and my sister standing against a metal railing. I still remember standing there holding a metal batmobile hotwheel. We still have the photo.
Definitely the best Hot Wheels.
So the sequence of events is that someone placed an order with a small company that makes unique items to order.
The person who made the order stopped making the agreed payments and the company had no choice but to continue it's business of building unique items for paying customers... What reasonable person (buyer, sheriff, judge, prosecutor etc) expects a company to put everything on hold for one customer? Especially when that customer defaults on payments?
They continued producing the items they produce to satisfy the paying customers while waiting for the defaulter to make contact.
The defaulter got in contact, made entitled demands, overpaid and settled the full amount, then got upset that during his period of default the company continued to function to provide it's products to decent people who maintained their payments. Now the defaulter is bottom of the waiting list.
The overly entitled defaulter couldn't cope with not getting his own way and decided to lash out and commission people to harm the person producing the product. Even though the person he'd paid to produce the item was still going to complete the job, but was going to take longer to fulfill the order because the defaulter took longer to make the payments.
And the defaulter believes they have a case... Why?
That is what I gathered in a nutshell
My thought when the original video came out, Did the guy expect to be moved back to front of list since he payed in full? Was that agreed on or was he just mad your not getting your status moved back to the front of the line?
Total agreement.
Karens gonna Karen.
Yeah, guy claims the Builder broke their contract, but I'm pretty sure rich guy is the one who broke the contract when he defaulted on his payments for 8 months...
@@thea.m.p.co.467 Sad part is......money almost always wins. He will just use his resources to try to put this guy out of business through frivolous lawsuits this guy can't afford (time or money) to keep up with.
Thanks for answering the questions about the warrants and the participation of the local Indiana deputy. It's interesting that they detained the man and took him to an interrogation room. That seems way over the top. And how does one "serve" a warrant without actually providing the entire warrant?
Steve , you outdid yourself here. I applaud you and your coverage and fair reporting on this totally unbelievable and insane case
That he touched upon the chassis and engine shows how deep he went so very quickly.
I've come to a conclusion in this story in that the buyer is using his understanding of real estate and issues as such related to building construction and allegedly applied building construction misappropriation of construction funds to the car he's wanting to buy.
Let's not forget that he seemed to have missed a few payments in finalizing his car's construction in a timely manner.
8 months the man said he tried to get hold of him.
Late payments on the car and zero contact for MONTHS from the buyer. So he simply moved the buyer's car to the back of the line. But go look at just the pictures of Sam Anagnostou, and you can tell he's the kind of douche who would do something like this.
Agreed, I think you nailed it perfectly, Pat Bubba. If you work in real estate or construction management long enough, and are willing to learn, eventually, you will be dealing with issues like property rights, waivers, liens, contracts, schedules, impacts, progress payments... It seems that knowing some of that gives the buyer a leg up, particularly if he is willing to lie about the payment delays that he caused. If I had a dollar for every client who impacted a schedule and caused delay, but ignored those provisions of the contract and still insisted on making the deadlines, I would have... a lot of dollars.
@@dimitriosfotopoulos3689 wouldn’t the subpoena’d show the shop trying to contact him. This is wild. I expect this guy to lose but not much happen to anyone else. So aggravating.
@@danegerous24 I just remembered one of those joke signs that charge a $15.00 free for dealing with obnoxious customers. I kind of think that the owner of fiberglass freaks may consider getting one now, or put something of a similar bent as a new clause in his hopefully soon to be updated or newly created purchase contracts.
That is some dedication to his viewers not even taking time to change his shirt even when it is part of his channels charm the interesting shirts he wears.
I suspect this case will be either withdrawn or dismissed in the near-ish future. I hope this man sues the crap out of everyone involved.
I grew up Far North Queensland (FNQ), a very rural part of Australia in the 60's. My friends and I were huge fans of the TV show Batman and Robin. We were gob smacked when we found out the Batmobile was on a promotional tour and was on display in one of the larger regional towns. Ofcourse we pested our parents to the point where they agreed to take us to see it. I remember that it was very imposing vehicle.
He’s been my friend for over 35 years, and I can tell you he’s meticulous in the cars’ detail
Let’s get the CA judges on the record for their decision process for issuing the warrants. My guess is that they claim to have been misled.
I don't think a judge has to issue a warrant i thought it was mostly the DA. A DA that told them it wouldnt be valid. Maybe in CA a sheriff has that power.
Has to be signed by a judge.
@@davidh9638 ok wait I'm saying arrest warrant not search warrant. But even for the search warrant they may have been furnished fraudulent information.
@@chartle1 both have to be signed by a judge
@@Anon_Ymous based on ten seconds of googling I now believe so. 👍
Finally some updates! Thanks Steve
Thanks Steve you do a great service and we all love you.
So glad we got an update! Please keep them coming!
Steve, I’m one of those ‘60s kids who thought the Bat Mobile was the greatest among the great body of ‘60s TV show cars. There was the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty, the Monkey Mobile, the Munster Mobile and let’s not forget Dragula. What a great time to be getting your drivers license!
Thank you for the update. I watched a TH-cam this morning from a local TV station in California. The county is outraged out there and demanding answers.
I little more to the story I saw last night was, the guy in California missed some payments. The builder moved him down in the queue to work on other cars. Dude in California called his buddy, the Sheriff and it spiraled from there.
Thank you - this the piece of the story that seems to be missing. After reading your comment I searched a bit more and confirmed your statement along with the shop owner also stating that he had unsuccessfully attempted to contact the California complainant.
Steve left some of this out in this video because he covered it in his original video a couple of days ago.
@@MichaelDawson03 Thanks. I didn’t intend to imply that it was missing only here. Before even seeing this episode of Lehto I had caught a few articles and vid clips elsewhere that didn’t make any mention of the origins of the dispute. After reading Valor’s comment I searched some more and finally found a couple mentions about the customer missed payments and hadn’t been reachable. When it’s clear that the customer wasn’t cheated out of anything, merely lost a position on the delivery list, then the context becomes abundantly more clear of this being pure harassment for personal reasons at taxpayer expense.
When a normal person calls the cops for something like this, they are told to get a lawyer and pursue it in civil courts. I wonder how much the plane tickets cost to fly those cops to Indiana?
Local TV station has an update and they got all the bills and receipts from the trip I believe it was around 10 to $15,000 the taxpayers paid.
Airfare, hotel and rental cars cost around $10,400. I think they spent 3 days in Indiana. There’s a vid somewhere that has all the costs except for cost of meals.
I understand the buyer fell behind in payments, then paid the full amount, and was upset he'd been bumped down the queue, so this crazy action happened.
I remember when I was a young boy seeing the Batmobile in around 1966 it was parked outside the Kennady apt.'s in Lawndale Ca. As I remember, Adam West was living there it was like a PR move to get people to watch the Series.
I've heard of Judges like this that my dad used to work with in Orlando when he was a traffic officer there and if a judge with that much integrity gets this case in court he will apologize profusely to the gentleman from Indiana. If he has a spec of Integrity he will take every officer that was sent to Indiana including the sheriff from that County and put them in jail for at least a week for contempt of court. It's not like every one of them doesn't deserve it. And the idiot that signed the warrant in Indiana because his name got drug into it he had to put that Deputy in jail for swearing out a false warrant. And then make either the sheriff and possibly those officers in California pay the man for having cost him at least a day's work. Perhaps several days. But it's hard to find that kind of Integrity even in the judicial system anymore. The one story I remember the most that my dad told me was that he was in traffic court one day and an officer came in with the mirrored aviator sunglasses and he sat through the entire case about these people that he claimed were speeding and all that they were saying no you you misread something and they went through the entire case and then he found the people not responsible. And the officer says what's going on? The judge in open court said if you ever wear those glasses in my courtroom again you are going straight to jail I cannot see your eyes I cannot tell whether you're telling the truth because that's part of how I judge whether or not someone is telling the truth. Besides that it's disrespectful to the court. This entire fiasco, because they have inculated the court in a dealing which they already know should have been handled a different way have completely disregarded the court and they somehow convince some idiot in Indiana to play along with them.
The judge in Indiana that issued the warrant may have been lied too inorder for California to get the search warrant. The officers that lied to obtain the search warrant should be charged with purgery and lying under oath.
The bank and email warrants can be written and signed by any judge in any state. The paperwork given to the person being searched isn’t the full warrant, it’s the face sheet…the PC isn’t on there, usually just the location and what’s being searched for…as for the search warrant that was written in Indiana, the deputy who wrote that would have needed a lot of information to get the PC and if it wasn’t there, that deputy shouldn’t have written it period.
"You don't redo the Batmobile."
And you don't tug on Superman's cape.
I saw a Batmobile in my neighborhood which is isolated north of Houston. It was going out as I was going in. Hearing how many were made helps me understand how that was possible.
Just sent a supportive email and ordered a shirt from their website. Hope this man shakes up the justice of nonsense wheel. I encourage everyone to do the same.
Steve, I have to question your throwaway comment about how the search warrant being signed by an Indiana judge and served by Indiana deputies makes it a "legal" search warrant. My understanding is that you have to have someone ATTEST to the fact that there is EVIDENCE to be sought after and collected (if found) as the basis for a warrant. Lacking this testimonial support, this is the very definition of a fishing expedition, it seems to me.
I know Mark through local conventions in Indiana. He sometimes does panels where he'll go over the process of how he makes the cars, and the attention to detail he and the others put into these is remarkable. It's always a treat when he actually brings a car to a convention so you can get an up close look and even get a picture. I really hope this whole thing gets dismissed and we get some answers about how it was allowed to happen in the first place.
I want to know why those California officers haven't been arrested yet. They were WAY out of jurisdiction, meaning everything they did was not only illegal, but was criminal. The state of Indiana needs to file a warrant for their arrest and extradition to be prosecuted in Indiana.
I understand what you're saying but I don't hold the four officers that did the traveling responsible for following the orders of their Superior who could have them fired if they didn't do his bidding. I suspect that this type of action of Interstate cooperation is not uncommon but I also believe it usually has a much more solid case than this one. Now I do believe the sheriff should be arrested for misappropriation of funds and held personally responsible, along with his buddy, for the thousands of dollars of misappropriated funds from San Mateo. And as I said in another post, the buyer of the Batmobile replica should have his name made public. I would want to know about a person I was going to do business with if they're willing to pull this kind of trick on a legitimate businessman.
@@mikeslater6246 - No. If their boss says go shoot my neighbor because the boss doesn't like him, should they obey so they won't get fired? That's not how the law works. You don't obey illegal orders. Period. If you do, then you need to be prepared to suffer the consequences.
@@need100k come on, you've got to be kidding with that example. Steve himself said, or at least implied, in one or maybe both of his videos on this subject that there are processes between states that could easily allow this to be legal. And I can very easily see how a sheriff who would do this in the first place would fire the people who refused to do his bidding in these circumstances. It has been revealed that this sheriff is a lame duck civil servant who was recently voted out of office and will leave in January. What I suggested is easily plausible!
@@mikeslater6246 They agreed to commit several federal felony crimes to avoid losing their job. Sounds like just the kind of people we need enforcing the law... smh
Conspiracy to kidnap... crossing state lines to commit a felony... denial of rights... the pigs should hang in gibbet cages.
As your subscribers go up your ability to help people in these situations will increase. As a matter of fact, I have watched several of your videos and this is the one that made me subscribe.
Thanks for great update. Can’t wait to hear future updates.
Thanks for the update Steve. You do a wonderful job of explaining these cases. It’s nice to know I can watch your channel and get a clear understanding of these crazy events without the media’s slant, bias or narrative attached to it. I know in your videos you often include news coverage but, you present it based on the facts to the best of your ability. I can tell you that I highly appreciate that and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Glad to see you're so dedicated to the Batmobile story that you were compelled to get the video out without a wardrobe change.
By the time the lawsuits are done there is going to be one very rich car builder and I'm wondering about criminal charges for the San Mateo deputies in Indiana for kidnapping, assault, and a host of other felonies.
Qualified immunity. They are gonna be fine.
Probably can't happen with them holding a warrant signed by an Indiana judge.
@@davidh9638 unless it can be proven the warrant was obtained using information the officer provided was knowingly false, but good luck getting that proof
The Deputy from IN is going to be covered by you know what since to all intents and purposes they were given what appeared to be valid documents. Still way messed up.
@@Mike_Dubayou They only have QI in the state they are certified in and when they leave that state they by law, private citizens. It doesn't matter who ordered them or who signed what piece of paper once they left California they became a gang.
For years (decades?) the Batmobile was parked outside at George Barris' shop next to the Hollywood Freeway (I think that was the freeway). And every day hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles commuters would drive by a parking lot filled with classic 60's TV cars.
Sometime in the 1980's, I had attended a car auction in northern Illinois. The two big featured cars in the auction were a gull wing Mercedes and a Batmobile, which I think was billed as the "original," but I'm not sure. I believe it sold for $90,000.
He needs to contact the FBI for civil rights violations! And sue the local police officers as well as the California police! California has some of the best electronic privacy laws. Sounds like a lot of corrupt cops backscratching. Corrupt police officers make honest police officers look bad! We need a form of law and order in this country but when corruption is exposed it needs to be cut out like cancer.
LOL!! The FBI is the Brown Shirts for the Democrat party.
the local law officers were just serving a warrant but the Californian officers should bein asking question before leaving the Californian judges that signed the warrants need to be looked at also.
Actually, the first car I loved was the Mach 5 on Speed Racer!
Mine was, and will always be, the beautiful red Ferrari 308 from Magnum PI.
Definitely Speeds Mach 5 and Racer X’s Shooting Star 👍
Even Speed fell in love with the GRX
Thank you for explaining all of this craziness of an "entitled" spoiled wealthy person who obviously had a corrupt sheriff in his hip pocket(wonder how?). Hopefully this will root another example of taxpayer fleecing for personal/monetary reasons under the color of law.
Growing up on Long Island in the 60s a neighbor of ours bought the production release. It was the coolest car for miles around. He worked for Grumman Aerospace at the time and would mention the LEM a lot.
Bob Butts made the perfect replica of the Batmobile George Barris was so impressed he Autographed the Dash. It Was built by hand to the highest standard on a 1977 lincoln town car Specially fabricated parts are combined with top-shelf automotive components to create a car that remains true to the original - and then improves on it.
I have actually seen the "real" one regularly, it was sold at Barrett-Jackson a few years ago for 4.2m. The owner lives in the Phoenix area (not too far away!) and does take it out.
Is he in costume as the Batman?
@@gregb6469 it is illegal to impersonate The Batman. 😉🙃
@@MarcosElMalo2 -- Tell that to all the kids who go out on Halloween as the Batman.
The question I got is. If this raid is deemed illegal, wouldn’t it make both sheriffs office liable and if so where would he file a lawsuit against the California sheriff department and officers?
No, they are shielded from being inept and there is no proof of malice toward the shop owner.
Not true, there is no immunity for a LEO who is not in jurisdiction. Local DA should file charges for the California individuals involved. Being a cop in one state gives you no legal protection in another state not certified in. At minimum some people need to be fired or reprimanded. Please stick it to them,
Sincerely,
California Resident
Maybe I'm a bit too old, the first TV car I can remember falling in love with was Kookie's T-bucket hot rod on 77 Sunset Strip.
I looked up the definition and “lynching” a couple of years ago out of curiosity. It started with a Judge Lynch who used his position illegally. If I remember correctly he jailed some rivals for about a year. It isn’t just about mobs who harm or kill people without the legal authority to do so. It seems to me that many of those who have blocked anti-lynching bills since the first one was written by a black Republican are people like that sheriff. Use their position to break laws and often get away with it because of laws that protect them.
This case has fascinated me because I knew George Barris, and live not that far from the shop that he had in North Hollywood which was more of a museum. George was one of the most unassuming people you'd ever meet, very humble and did old school "cut and paste" when making flyers etc. He would not use a computer. He would sit at his desk with the Batmobile in front of him making flyers for various car shows or whatever event he was involved with at the time using pinstripe stickers and pictures he would cut and paste and put in place, it was interesting to watch this guy who was incredibly wealthy by any standard sit down in a T-shirt and shorts just clipping out advertisements. Hollywood lost a legend when George died. He worked on mini movie cars, and ran a cool little side business for enthusiasts by providing them things like the original knight rider nose, etc.
The search warrant was issued by the Cass Circuit Court in Indiana, I'm sure following the issuance of a warrant in California. There is a whole process for "domesticating" a foreign warrant, but generally speaking, if a warrant issues from another state and has all the earmarks of being genuine, "full faith and credit" applies, though the judge in Indiana still has to ensure that it meets Indiana requirements.
I can't imagine an honest judge in Indiana allowing this though. How can a warrant from California be issued for an alleged crime that did not occur in California? This whole incident stinks of corruption...
@@markdarragh6620 I don't think you understand how domestication of foreign warrants work. Also, while this does not seem to be a crime, people can commit crime remotely in other states easily. If someone falls for an internet or telephone fraud, do you really think it's not a crime in the state of the victim even if the perp has never been there? It's not the Indiana Judge's job to decide guilt or innocence or even proper venue when presented with an out-of-state warrant. He evaluates the requisites for issuance of a warrant. Period.
Was the warrant issued for probable cause? And if so, what was the PC?
@@rcpilot179 It has to be. I don't know specifically what evidence was presented...but neither does anyone else commenting here.
Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution deals with this very issue.
Absolutely everybody in that county in California needs to make the current DA know that if when the evidence comes out, there isn't enough to convict, that he/sh will be voted out in the next election. This kind of thing cannot be let go.
The DA already said they weren't pressings charged
Thank you Steve for covering this. I can’t wait to hear the future update on this whole shady incident. Looks like a whole lot of violations on the part of the police agencies. Great work as usual.
If you visit Mark’s shop, you’ll be welcomed, and get the full history while you marvel at the construction and attention to detail. Mark is a great guy, and doesn’t deserve to be harassed by an entitled. Infantile adult that wants his toy now.
Thongs change scent from one end to the other. Knowledge is power. God bless