A Utah man went off the rails after getting frustrated with a car he bought, leading to his arrest for driving through the front doors of the dealership when his refund request was shot down.
On Monday, Sandy police responded to the scene at Tim Dahle Mazda Southtowne where Michael Lee Murray, 35, had purchased a vehicle earlier that day but returned a few hours later, according to a police booking affidavit. “Murray returned to request his money back and to return the vehicle that he had bought. However, staff advised Murray that he bought the vehicle ‘as is’ and the vehicle cannot be returned in exchange for his money back. Murray told the manager that since they are not giving his money back he was going to drive his vehicle through the front doors,” the affidavit states.
After strolling out of the dealership, Murray hopped into his new vehicle and, as he promised, crashed it right through the front doors. Seven employees reported that they had to leap out of the way to avoid being hit.
“Murray’s vehicle was completely inside the building. The front doors were now inside the building, there was glass shattered all around where Murray’s vehicle was and some pieces of the door and door frame had hit another vehicle that was in the showroom, causing damage to the side of that vehicle as well,” the affidavit states.
The damage from the incident was pegged at around $10,000. In his conversation with the police, Murray claimed the dealership “sold him a lemon” and refused to refund his money, as noted in the arrest report.
He was taken into custody at the Salt Lake County Jail on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, and economic interruption.