COLORADO SPRINGS — Looks are not always what they seem.
After finding a note on her windshield, Tasha Villarreal thought she was dealing with a warning from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. The back of the note warned the "registered vehicle owner" that her car parked on the road in front of Villarreal's house would getting towed.
"I was just like that seems very unofficial, but then I was also kind of panicking cause I was like I don't want my car to get towed," said Villarreal.
She posted a picture of the note on Facebook, asking if people though it was real. Villarreal's post was met with many comments calling the piece of paper fake.
"This one was a bit comical in that there wasn't even a whole lot of effort put into it. It was just kind of a copy store creation they made," said Sergeant Jason Garrett with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Garrett says sometimes these notes come up when people are frustrated with the amount of cars on a certain street.
"Although that is frustrating and in my opinion inconsiderate, it's actually not against the law," said Garrett.
However, leaving inoperable cars parked on a public road, or a car parked on a residential street for 48 hours is.
Villarreal says she saw notes on her neighbors cars as well, and admits her yard is usually full of cars because she flips them as a side hobby.
"I'm thinking it might be a neighbor that just, cause the cars have been sitting there, wants them cleaned up," said Villarreal.
" We're all friendly here! We wave at you every day! If there's an issue, definitely come tell me and I'll take care of it or we can resolve it or whatever... You don't have to put bogus letters on my car."
The Sherrif's Office is urging everyone to check the validity of any citations on their vehicles with the department, before taking action.
