property being withheld

several months ago a friend of mine for over 20 years asked if i'd be interested in renting a room from him bcuz he needed the extra income. the price was right so i agreed. we didn't draw up a lease, thats not the problem. i asked if i could store my very small 1966 shasta travel trailer on the 10 acres of property, its not evem 12 ft long. again, it was fine with him. after a few weeks i began noticing some behavior that just didnt seem normal (up all night for 3 and 4 days in a row, unkempt appearances, bad hygene, etc), so i started spending less nd less time there but still paid my rent without fail. Finally i did find out that he and his girlfriend were infact using drugs. i gave him a 30 day notice. he was fine with that. on the 24th of last month i removed all of my belongings and packed them in my little travel trailer and made a deal with him for him to tow it to my mothers home. i paid him $400.00 cash and it was to be delivered the next day. I never heard from him nor did he return any of my calls. today he called and said that he was missing a very large oxygen tank used for welding and assumes i took it so unless i give him another 250.00 by tomorrow or he is going to burn it down. yes i could go there with the police and show my proof of ownership but then what? i have asked everyone i know and even strangers too if they would tow it for me and i would of course compensate for fuel and their time. no luck. what can i do to ensure he doesnt destroy all i own until i can find a truck to tow it? im am in az.

"i paid him $400.00 cash and it was to be delivered the next day. I never heard from him nor did he return any of my calls."

It is unclear why you wouldn't make other arrangements to go get your trailer.

He isn't in a position to declare that you may not have your stuff.  If I were you, since AZ is a one-party consent state, I'd call him (or text him) and record that call, asking why he threatened to burn down your trailer and saying that you've made arrangements for someone to tow it for you (even if that means paying someone else for it and later suing him for a return of the money you paid).  Even if you don't get him on tape admitting he did this, you may ask the police to call him and warn him what charges will likely follow if he does anything to your property.

"yes i could go there with the police and show my proof of ownership but then what?"

Not sure what your point is here/what you expect us to say.  :)

I cannot fathom why you can't call a tow company and say you just need a truck with a trailer hitch.

mswenson:

i paid him $400.00 cash and it was to be delivered the next day. I never heard from him nor did he return any of my calls.

You gave $400 to a druggie and didn't see that coming?

mswenson:

what can i do to ensure he doesnt destroy all i own until i can find a truck to tow it?

There's plenty of places where you can rent a pick up truck with a trailer hitch.

Make sure you have a friend or two go with you.

See if the police will do a civil standby.

Once you get the trailer out, you can sue him for the $400 back.

Thank you very much for your advice. The reason i cannot rent a truck is because my license is suspended, as well, while I was at his house packing and loading my things from the room i rented 780.00 mysteriously went missing from my purse. I had just got a partial grant payment for my college classes that day and, well, since i didnt see him do it, nor do i have any witnesses, it was just myself and him, process of elimination, it had to have been him but as i mentioned in my original post, i eventually discovered that he was in fact using drugs, dangerous drugs and from what i know those kind of people are very unpredictable. i agreed to pay him 250.00 and i found someone to help me tow it but before we get there  we will park and call law enforcement and ask for their assistance. I called them after i posted earlier and they filled me in on my rights. i have no intention on giving him even 1 cent, and with my ownership paperwork and his dislike for the law i don't believe i will have a problem. i hope not anyway.  Thanks again.