PUC hearing records evidence that Precision Towing operated without permit or insurance; respondent did not appear

Administrative Law Judge Connor Farley heard evidence on Nov. 3, 2025, in Proceeding No. 25G‑0171TO after trial staff of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission alleged that Precision Towing and Recovery and its owner, Reginald D. Berry, operated as a tow carrier without a valid permit and without the insurance required by commission rules.

Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Hayden and other trial staff called Investigator Erin Hazlett of the PUC’s transportation‑investigations unit. Hazlett testified that Precision’s online towing‑permit application lists Reginald Berry as owner and designated agent, that the company’s insurance was canceled effective Aug. 13, 2024, and that the PUC revoked the company’s permit following a show‑cause decision that became final Sept. 25, 2024. Hazlett said the revocation left Precision without authority to tow after that date.

Hazlett described five consolidated towing incidents that form the basis of the civil penalty assessment notice (CPAN): an Oct. 14, 2024 tow of a Jeep (complainant Felix Martinez) where the vehicle owner paid $2,500 to retrieve the vehicle; Oct. 17, 2024 tows including a Toyota Tundra (complainant Luis Martinez) where the owner paid $1,200; and three Feb. 7, 2025 tows at the Best Buds dispensary location, including payments of $525 each by Pastor Kevin Shaw and Rebecca Novak. Hazlett introduced receipts, electronic‑payment records, text messages and photographs, and identified those records as maintained in the PUC’s Integrated Filing Management System (IFMS). She said the receipts and payment records show funds going to payees or accounts that public records and secretary‑of‑state filings tie to Reginald Berry, including a Precision Painting Contractor LLC account and Venmo/Zelle account identifiers.

Staff also introduced certified‑mail records and USPS tracking showing the CPAN and related notices were mailed to Berry at addresses on file in IFMS and to the registered agent identified in the Colorado Secretary of State records (Anthony Chacon). Several certified letters were returned as undeliverable or were left unclaimed, and Hazlett testified she had called Berry on Oct. 21 and sent a Zoom link on Oct. 30 to provide notice of the Nov. 3 hearing. Staff moved for an entry of default against the respondent for failing to appear; Judge Farley denied the motion, explaining his interpretation of the CPAN’s notice options and the statute that entry of default is permissive. The judge instructed staff to present its evidence, which they did.

Hazlett identified photographs of signage at an O’Reilly Auto Parts store showing Precision Towing as the tow provider for that property and a Department of Revenue record showing a white Tesla registered to Reginald D. Berry consistent with a witness report of a Tesla present at the storage yard when vehicle retrievals occurred. Hazlett also testified that a prior PUC adjudication (decision R24‑0622) resulted in a $1,000 civil penalty against Berry that remained unpaid; that prior adjudication supported staff’s request (previously granted by the commission) to double the penalties on the remaining counts in the amended CPAN.

After staff rested, Judge Farley found that Reginald Berry failed to appear at the hearing, closed the evidentiary record, and said he will issue a written recommended decision. He explained that after issuance of the recommended decision there will be a 20‑day period for exceptions to be filed with the three PUC commissioners. The ALJ explicitly found that staff had attempted to notify Berry by call, email, and certified mail and by mailing to the secretary‑of‑state registered agent, and that Berry had not communicated a scheduling conflict that would have prevented his attendance.

The hearing record admitted a set of exhibits supporting staff’s allegations, including the permit application (Hearing Ex. 16), the CPAN (Ex. 1), IFMS and insurance cancellation notices (Exs. 2, 13, 14, 15), certified‑mail tracking and return receipts (Exs. 4, 7–11, 12), photographs of signage (Ex. 28), receipts and payment evidence for the towing matters (Exs. 17, 18, 22, 25–31, 33), text‑message records from complainants (Ex. 26), and a Department of Revenue vehicle registration record (Ex. 37).

No respondent testimony or evidence was presented because Berry did not appear. Judge Farley denied staff’s request for an entry of default but took the evidence and will render a recommended decision; the commission will review any exceptions filed to that recommended decision.