Mr. Moore your
car was stolen.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: That was a 1995
Pontiac Grand Am.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: How long had you
had it?
>> I had it three years.
>> Judge Judy: And the car
turned up right across the
street from Mr. Padilla's
auto-body shop.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And it turned up
how much after it was stolen?
>> I'm not exactly sure how long
it turned up at his body shop,
but I have the police report.
According to the police
report --
>> Judge Judy: On what date did
you report the car stolen?
>> July 1, 2015.
>> Judge Judy: And on what date,
Mr. Padilla, did this person
come in to try to sell you the
car?
>> Maybe around the 18th or so.
I'm not quite sure.
>> Judge Judy: Of July?
>> Of July, yes.
>> Judge Judy: Now, when he came
in to sell you this car, you had
never seen him before.
>> No, I had not.
>> Judge Judy: But according to
you, he offered to sell you the
car for a very cheap price --
for $1,000.
>> $1,000, yes.
>> Judge Judy: So that aroused
your suspicion.
>> Yes, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: Right?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: So you said, "I'm
not gonna buy the car from you."
But before you declined his
offer, I assume, if you're a
businessman, you went out to
look at the car.
>> Yes, I did, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: According to your
answer, he drove the car up to
your shop.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: So it was
running.
>> It was running.
>> Judge Judy: And then you said
you saw him -- 'cause I read
your answer carefully.
When you said, "I don't want to
buy your car," you saw him park
the car across the street from
where your shop is, get out of
the car, waited a few minutes.
Somebody came to pick him up.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And then the car
was just left there.
>> Yes, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: Now, when
Mr. Moore's car was found,
Mr. Padilla, it wasn't in
drivable condition.
Someone had stripped it down.
Is that correct, Mr. Moore?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Taken out all the
whatever parts you could
possibly use for something else.
And Mr. Moore thinks that you're
responsible for that.
You may not be responsible for
stealing his car.
He doesn't know that.
Right?
>> Yes, ma'am. That's correct.
>> Judge Judy: But Mr. Moore
thinks that you're responsible
for stripping it down.
And he has somebody here with
him who's a witness, 'cause you
said, "I never went into the
car," right?
Now, I'm just guessing -- maybe
I'm wrong -- that this is the
person who saw Mr. Padilla in
your car?
>> Yes, ma'am.
This is the witness that flagged
the officer down.
>> Judge Judy: May I see the
police report?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Do you understand
what your problem is,
Mr. Padilla?
>> Yes, Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: All righty.
Tell me your name.
>> Eddie Lopez.
>> Judge Judy: Mr. Lopez, do you
live close to where
Mr. Padilla's shop is?
>> No, at one time, I had a
tow-truck service there, a tow
service, and I would get in my
trunk and, you know, go to pick
up cars, stuff like that, come
back.
>> Judge Judy: Sometimes from
his shop?
>> No, no, no, right next door
at 1531 [bleep] in
Huntington Beach.
>> Judge Judy: So you pass his
shop.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: I'd like you to
tell me what you know, if
anything, about Mr. Padilla
doing work or doing something on
Mr. Moore's car.
>> Well, probably for the car
being out there when they found
it, the police, after I flagged
them down and said I had seen
the car.
>> Judge Judy: You flagged down
the police?
>> Yes, well, I'd seen the
police by the car.
And I flagged down the officer
and told them that I had seen
the car prior to being out there
on the parking of Mr. Padilla's
business.
>> For how long did you see it
on the lot?
>> God, a few days on and off
before that, you know, out
there.
Seen people working on it and
stuff like that.
I thought they were just fixing
it at first.
>> Judge Judy: So you saw it
actually on his lot and people
working on it.
Is there anything in particular
about this car that drew your
attention to the car?
>> The chrome wheels that it had
on first.
There was chrome wheels on it.
>> When the car was put out in
the street, did it have the
chrome wheels on it?
>> No, it didn't.
>> Judge Judy: So the chrome
wheels were taken off.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Are you familiar
with the people that
Mr. Padilla has working for him?
>> Not really, 'cause what I
do -- I get a call, jump on my
tow truck, take off, and come
back.
I really don't --
>> Judge Judy: Do you know
Mr. Padilla?
>> No, I've seen him around the
business, but, no, not really.
>> Judge Judy: Thank you.
You can sit down.
This man has no particular ax to
grind.
He says the car was on your lot,
people were working on it, and,
when he first saw the car, what
drew his attention to the car
were these great wheels, which
it didn't have when it was put
out on the street, Mr. Padilla.
Explain that to me.
>> Yes.
First, the person here,
Mr. Lopez, he is lying.
He does not -- I have been at
that building since December,
actually, of 2014, all through
2015, and there has not been
anybody with a tow company in
that building.
>> He's lying, Your Honor.
He's lying.