New evidence released in fatal shooting of tow yard owner

State Attorney's Office releases recorded interviews, crime scene photos

ORLANDO, Fla. – The State Attorney's Office has released recorded interviews and crime scene photos involved in the shooting death of an Orlando business owner.

[RELATED: Police: Owner of Orlando tow yard shot, killed during dispute over car]

On May 16, an employee of the Tow Truck Company called 911 to report a man was attempting to leave his vehicle without paying for the tow fee.

Detectives said the tow company's owner, Paul Gren, was shot dead by Tremain Polk, 35.

"He's walking out. No, he's got a gun out," an employee of the company is heard on the phone with dispatchers.

A phone call with 911 also captured the exact moments the shots were fired. The employee is heard screaming and then runs into a bathroom.

Moments before the shooting, the witness said you can hear Gren yelling at Polk to get on his knees.

The employee said Polk refused to pay the $285 tow fee. Polk's wife is heard on a recorded interview that her husband believed the fee was about half that amount.

The employee described to detectives how Gren held a handgun on his side after Polk pushed the employee.

"He pulls his gun out. He didn't point it ever at him. He always had it down, but he is like OK, this isn't gonna happen because he started to get really like, eeerr. You know like, kind of like road rage kind of thing, and he was afraid that he was going to hit me," the employee said.

The witness also said that Polk pulled out his gun so fast that Gren didn't have a chance to fire back.

Crime scene photos also show evidence markers outside the office where the employee said the shooting took place.

"I saw him shoot three or four times and Paul fell up against his truck on his passenger door," said the employee in a recorded interview with detectives.

Polk's wife also said in an interview with detectives that her husband did not have a concealed weapons permit.

In court records, prosecutors said Polk wasn't allowed to own a gun because of a felony armed robbery conviction in 2000.

Polk is scheduled to be back in court in September.


About the Author:

Troy graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. He has reported on Mexican drug cartel violence on the El Paso/ Juarez border, nuclear testing facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory and severe Winter weather in Michigan.

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