ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (KMOV.com) -- A local man told News 4 he's out hundreds of dollars because his car was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but police said it's a bit more complicated than that.

“I feel like I am being robbed of my money, just to get my truck back,” Aner Jones said.

Like many of us, Jones, who lives in north St. Louis County, said he really needs his vehicle.

“I do use it every day to go back and forth every day, and I work all the way out in Wentzville,” he said.

Just before Christmas, he took it into a shop for repairs.

“A few of my friends who know him from working on cars said he was a good mechanic and they told me about him, so I got his phone number and told him I could bring my truck down there,” Jones said.

He had never met the mechanic at T and R Pit Stop in St. Ann before but paid him $500 to start the work. Jones then arranged to pick his vehicle up the first week in January.

But, on January 4, the mechanic was shot and killed at the shop. Police said it was a case of mistaken identity, though the shop had been under investigation for drug activity.

Jones said he was shocked.

“I was like man, from me just talking to him, I thought that was a good guy,” he said.

Jones told News 4 he went to the scene to see about his truck but police would only say they'd give him a call.

“Did they ever call you?” asked investigative Reporter Lauren Trager.

“No. They never called me,” Jones said.

Instead, his car, one of about two dozen on the lot, was towed away. Jones is on the hook for the cost of the tow, plus $40 every day it was on the lot, even when police wouldn't allow it to be released because the car was part of the investigation.

Then, there’s a $100 tow release fee charged by the police department. The total is about $950.

“It’s just a bad situation. It just hurts me for real, because I don't have the money to get it out,” Jones said.

Police tow release fees are pretty common. The subject of several News 4 investigations, they're often charged by municipalities on both sides of the river and some fees soar as high as $500.

Jones said the total cost is a huge hardship.

“I feel like I am a victim of a crime, just having the police officers take my vehicle for no reason at all,” he said.

“I am not going to allow this type of crime and other areas of crimes to be allowed here in St. Ann,” St. Ann Police Chief Aaron Jimenez said.

He promised a crackdown on crime and that's exactly what he's doing.

People who took their cars to the Pit Stop, Chief Jimenez said, ought to have known better due to drug activity and the fact that the store didn’t have electricity.

“There were so many that were stolen, bullet holes in them, no plates, that kind of stuff, so we didn’t' even know who the cars belong to,” Chief Jimenez said.

Jones and his truck are still part of an ongoing investigation, according to Jimenez. The vehicle reportedly did not have plates on it.

Police: Suspects in deadly shooting of St. Ann shop owner arrested after chase St. Louis City police were involved in a pursuit Thursday afternoon with suspects they believe to be related to the murder of a St. Ann shop owner last week.

“There is a specific reason why he brought his car there and I don't think it was just to have the work done in my opinion,” Jimenez said.

News 4 asked the chief if it's possible Jones is just a victim, too.

“I think it could be possible, yes,” the chief said.

In that case, Chief Jimenez said he would consider giving Jones a refund.

“To clearly answer your question, I wouldn't mind making sure the tow company refunded or if they paid the tow fee, they get refunded that. We are not in it for the money, we have never been,” Chief Jimenez said.

“I didn't have no dealings with anything going on down at the shop,” Jones said.

Jones insists he just wanted his car fixed, saying he never imagined his car could just be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“It can happen to anybody,” he said.

Jones and Chief Jimenez connected this week and the chief promised about a $250 refund but the car still needs to be rebuilt, since the engine's currently in pieces.

News 4 spoke with Jones’ State Representative Tommie Pierson, Jr. He said the issue is certainly worth investigating further to see if any laws need to be changed.