Tow truck driver accused of ‘trapping’ journalists in car charged with harassment
Days after criminal charges were announced in two counties against a Kansas City towing company, a man is facing harassment charges for allegedly blocking two journalists in their car at the company’s lot.
James Basham, 44, was charged with felony harassment Thursday in Jackson County court. The charges follow an incident Tuesday afternoon at a lot maintained by Metro Tow at 10th Street and Agnes Avenue.
After a months’ long investigation following multiple complaints to the Kansas City Police Department, Metro Tow owner Donald Adamson and his mother, Lannette Adamson, are facing 18 felony charges related to predatory towing. Each was charged with four counts of stealing, four counts of forgery, and one count of first-degree harassment, and both are accused of falsifying documents and charging illegal fees.
According to court documents, a news reporter and videographer emailed KCPD from the Metro Tow lot around 3:10 p.m., explaining that their car had been “trapped” by multiple tow trucks. When officers arrived, the reporters explained that they had been parked on the east side of Agnes Road against a fence when four tow trucks arrived and arranged themselves around the car, blocking the reporters from the front, left and back.
Basham later confirmed to detectives that he had been driving one of the trucks involved in the incident, according to court documents. After the reporters’ car was trapped, Basham allegedly walked around the parked cars and to the side of the Metro Tow building while staring at the journalists, court documents read.
One of the journalists involved in the incident told responding officers that she had contacted KCPD “because she was afraid of what [the tow truck drivers] might do since there was no escape for them,” according to court documents.
Officers spoke to the tow truck drivers, who moved the trucks away without further incident, according to court documents.
“Our press should be able to report on issues in our community without fear and any attempt to intimidate or silence them will not be tolerated,” Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Johnson wrote in a statement Thursday night.
Basham is currently being held on a $50,000 bond.
Previous reporting by PJ Green contributed to this article.
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 8:04 PM.
