By Steven Symes 
One clerical error at a dealership led to a United States Coast Guard Officer being pulled over and arrested by police. Now that man is suing the dealer, which is trying to settle the case out of court.
Pirelli has found itself in the middle of a geopolitical controversy.
Sadly, we’ve seen similar cases of dealerships reporting a vehicle as stolen when it was in fact sold to someone. The same thing has happened with rental cars. It’s a scary situation because police have to make a felony traffic stop, arresting the innocent driver at gunpoint.
That’s exactly what happened to US Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Shane Sprague after he bought a used GMC Sierra 1500 from Doral Volkswagen in South Florida. Because someone at the dealer typed the VIN into the system incorrectly after it was sold, the truck was reported as stolen to police.
What’s even more disturbing is the dealer had a LoJack tracker in the GMC, providing cops with the exact location of the truck so the arrest could happen. We keep seeing cases of dealers hiding GPS trackers in vehicles after they’re sold, even in cases where a car has been paid for with cash.
Obviously, it was determined the dealership made a clerical error, but Sprague was arrested, thrown in a jail cell, and interrogated by detectives before that happened. He also said the GMC Sierra hasn’t been returned, so he’s driving a rental car. It’s no wonder the guy is suing.
A lawyer representing Doral Volkswagen spoke with NBC Miami about the incident, making it clear there was nothing malicious about the clerical error. The dealer wants the matter settled by an arbiter outside of court.
In other words, it’s playing damage control. But this sort of thing happens at dealerships way too often. That, combined with the vehicle tracker, set up a scary situation for a guy who just bought a vehicle and committed no crime.
Image via NBC Miami