XJ Jeep Cherokee Almost Got Recycled Right Off the Road
If you happen to own an XJ Jeep Cherokee, can you put a price on it? After all of the fun and wonderful memories you’ve had in it? After all the rocks it’s climbed and all of the trails it’s taken you down? Thanks to a scrap yard, one Alabama man allegedly put a price on his girlfriend’s 1995 Cherokee: $262.50.
According to The News Courier, on March 7, a woman parked her Cherokee (not pictured here) at a Taco Bell in Hazel Green, Alabama, then hopped into her then-boyfriend Matthew Gene Wallace’s vehicle and went with him to Wal-Mart. The woman was then arrested for shoplifting there. She gave her Jeep keys to Wallace, thinking he was going to give them to her mother. The woman’s mom didn’t get them until March 9, so Wallace did follow through, but it seems as if he also did something else…
Once the woman was freed from jail, she went back to the Taco Bell where she’d left her Jeep. It wasn’t there. Had it been towed? Not at Taco Bell’s request.
Madison County Sheriff’s Investigator Ken Andrews eventually found the ute on March 9 at Tennessee Valley Recycling (TVR), which allegedly bought the vehicle from Wallace for $262.50 – on March 9. The Cherokee was eventually returned to its owner. As for Wallace, he got arrested and charged with receiving stolen property, but got out after posting a $5,000 bond. He may face another charge, theft by deception, for his alleged sale of the Cherokee to TVR.
The Jeep was spared being ripped apart and/or crushed and lives to be driven (and, we hope, take off-road) another day. However, after this debacle, we have a feeling that Wallace’s relationship with the Cherokee’s owner has been completely destroyed.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
