Man upset over towed car throws Molotov cocktail at towing company in OK, feds say
An Oklahoma man was sentenced to prison after prosecutors said he threw a Molotov cocktail at a towing company that towed his car.
Tim Rixt Brens, 31, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison after he was found guilty of possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to a March 18 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney for comment March 19 but did not immediately receive a response.
Fire crews responded to a grass fire in Norman on May 16. The fire partially burned a building belonging to a towing company, prosecutors said.
Crews put out the fire and found several broken glass bottles, one with burned fabric sticking out, according to a criminal complaint. This is known as a Molotov cocktail, officials said.
Investigators found surveillance video that showed a man, later identified as Brens, pull up to a grassy area in a black two-door sports car, get out and throw a “flaming device” from behind some trees, officials said.
Brens then ran back toward the car and took off, according to the complaint.
After speaking with witnesses, authorities learned Brens was upset because his vehicle was towed on Dec. 30, 2023, and taken to the business, according to the complaint. He was upset about how much it would cost to get his car back and then learned the towing company sold the vehicle, officials said.
On May 17, investigators went to Brens’ apartment and found the vehicle that was on the surveillance video, the complaint said. Brens’ cellphone data also traced back to the time and location of the fire, officials said.
Norman is about a 20-mile drive south of Oklahoma City.
