Channel 7 Picks Up Youngin’s Story, Adds Nothing
On television, James W. Gee Jr. of Youngin's Towing looks tough but honest. If you treat him with respect, he says, he'll treat you with respect. Viewers have no reason to believe otherwise. The only contrasts to Gee's opinion are car owner LeRoy Atkins (you might remember him from our story) and Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs spokesperson Linda Argo, and neither one holds up against Gee's smoldering self-assertion.
WJLA-TV's Sam Ford frames his story as a question: Does Youngin's really rip customers off, or are they just upset at Gee's aggressive personality? Then he leaves it hanging through the rest of the time that he re-reports our story.
Context, please! He's alleged to have cursed out an old woman (according to Valerie Mitchell Sigwalt), chopped up one man's car (according to St. Lawrence Smith), and kept another car even after the city told him to let go (according to Robert Jacobs's civil suit). When I interviewed him, he said that black people "don't know how to conduct business," while white people---like me---do.
Also unmentioned: Gee's an ex-con. His record in D.C. Superior Court includes convictions for simple assault, disorderly conduct, and receiving stolen goods. He was charged more than two dozen times in the District and at least twice in Maryland.
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11:53 am
Yes, in March '07 I experienced the woes of Mr. Gee. He towed my nieces car from her complex and was extremely violent upon her arrival for pick up. He would not accept her credit card and ordered that she give him $140.00 cash only. He baggered both of us,leaving her in tears and losing a day off work, as well as my 6 year old daughter was present and to this day she questions me about "the man that fussed us out". The car's hood area was damaged by Youngin's (he finally confessed) and her insurance company is trying to reach him to no avail. My niece has reported him to the BBB and they have recorded her report. This all ended with me calling the police before leaving the lot and a report was taken, only because of my persistence. I can not believe that the District continues to let this operation exist, especially since his business practically sits in the Police Dept. Is there a connection? One would wonder. Please feel free to contact me in support of taking this dis-service out of our community.
12:29 pm
Rose: I just report the news. If you want to get Youngin's out of the community, you need to talk to the city, not to me. But I would like to hear your story. Would you e-mail your contact info to jyork@washingtoncitypaper.com?
12:31 pm
Oops. No question mark in the e-mail address:
jyork@washingtoncitypaper.com
9:15 am
I too had a run in with Mr. Gee about 10 years ago and at that time I couldn't understand why he was cursing at me. I was a 35 year old black professional female, too small to be intimidating and I wasn't there for a tow. A police officer had recommended Mr. Gee's shop to repair my car. When he looked at the car, he didn't even open the hood, he told me it would be $1600 to effect the repair. I questioned him, since he hadn't really looked at the car, and he went ballistic. Even threatened to keep my car or charge me a fee for the estimate. I left the lot shaking and went immediately to the officer who initially sent me to Mr. Gee. I realized after just a few minutes of conversation how this whole thing happened. Mr. Gee apparently treats police officers VERY WELL and so they aren't quick to anger him. I'm not surprised a police inspector gave him a good review in your article.
11:20 am
Where and how did you meet the officer?