A Routine Job Gone Horribly Wrong

Tow Truck Driver Flees After Shots Are Fired

Prince George's County tow truck driver Joey Heidenberg is used to people confronting him with red faces and expletives when he hauls away their cars for parking violations or improper tags. He can get a vehicle hooked up and out in a hurry.

But Wednesday morning was the first time he had to drop a car and flee for his life.

Heidenberg, 25, manager of the family owned Alley Cat Towing, and a co-worker went to the Covington Knowles condominium complex in Bowie shortly before 2 a.m. after receiving a complaint that someone had parked in another resident's spot. When Heidenberg saw that the vehicle, a Chevy Suburban, had expired tags, he began towing it. They went five feet and heard an alarm.

"We got another 25 feet, and with no warning I hear pop, pop, pop," he said.

A short time later, police arrived and found Berlin Hiligh, 30, a D.C. firefighter, standing in front of his home. Police talked to Hiligh and recovered a handgun. Hiligh was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

"I can't believe that he is a firefighter. He is supposed to be saving lives and not trying to take lives," Heidenberg said yesterday.

Neighbors said cars are routinely towed from the condominium complex. Those incidents usually don't end with gunfire and squad cars, but since last month's killing of Prince George's music producer Raymond Brown in nearby Mitchellville, it has become a climate where even the routine is suspect.

When a tow truck snatched Brown's Chrysler 300 from a cul-de-sac early on Oct. 13, Brown jumped into a second car and went after it. According to police, Brown confronted the person or persons taking his car and was fatally shot. No arrests have been made in that case.

Diane Hiligh said her son is a good guy. He was a lifeguard in Montgomery and Prince George's counties after graduating from Coolidge High School and had always wanted to be a firefighter.

"He thought somebody was trying to steal his car," said Hiligh, adding that her son, taking an attorney's advice, is not commenting. "Anybody can understand how he would think that."

The case is under investigation, but it appears that Hiligh took matters into his own hands, said Cpl. Debbi Carlson, a spokeswoman for Prince George's police. "The bottom line is, when in doubt, call 911," she said.

In the Brown case, disciplinary action was taken against four employees at the county's 911 call center. After Brown called to report that his car was being stolen by someone with a tow truck, operators apparently mistakenly assumed it was a case of repossession, something the county does not get involved in.