Police arrested and charged the owner of a Cape Coral towing company for allegedly towing vehicles from a Publix parking lot without permission in October.

Scott Stephen Friga, 34, owner of R & S Towing and Recovery, was charged with 16 felony counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle.

He was charged for each vehicle he towed at the owner’s expenses, but without permission of Publix Supermarkets, who owns the lot from which the vehicles were towed Oct. 15, said city spokesperson Connie Barron.

The lot was owned by Albertson’s before Publix took ownership of the lot.

The vehicle owners, who were each charged more than $200 to recover their vehicles from Friga’s company, told police that they were given permission by Albertson’s officials to park in the lot and carpool to various locations, Barron said.

The owners parked in the Publix lot as they had when the store was still an Albertson’s, and when they returned their vehicles had been impounded. Friga told them that Publix had requested their vehicles be removed from the parking lot, Barron said.

Publix officials denied Friga’s claim, she said.

Cape Coral detective Keith Nabozny worked with the Department of Revenue, Department of Agriculture’s Division of Licensing and the State Attorney’s Office during an investigation that led to Friga’s arrest Saturday.

Police began investigating after the city was contacted regarding the incident.

Friga was released from the Lee County Jail on $24,000 bond Saturday, according to booking records.