A man who apparently wasn’t enjoying Thanksgiving Day took out his anger on a car dealership in Bountiful.
The suspect used his foot to vandalize the cars. It happened Thanksgiving morning when only the security cameras were around to see it.
J.B. Lawrence, the inventory manager for Specialties Automotive Group in Bountiful, described the on-display cars that were damaged. “It’s a 2007 Mercedes Benz, 2004 Maserati, 2008 Subaru, and a 2009 Mustang GT.”
Lawrence said they were the cars that would attract customers to the dealership. But now the cars decorate the wall behind the Bountiful dealership. “Which is sad,” Lawrence said, “because now we’re hesitant to put them back out there.”
At 6:18 on Thanksgiving morning, a hooded man decided to kick. “He was kicking away like nobody’s business,” Lawrence said after watching the security footage.
The man seemed to be minding his own business as he walked by the vehicles. The attack was sudden as he went after the Maserati. Then another security camera caught him doing the same thing to the Mustang, followed by the Subaru and Mercedes Benz.
Lawrence was confused by the random attack. “There are cars that drive past him, so it’s pretty bizarre,” said Lawrence.
After the vandalism occurred, the suspect “walked about his business down Pages Lane into west Bountiful like he was walking home,” Lawrence said.
At first glance the dents, scratches and dirt on the cars may seem minimal, but the incident left them with thousands of dollars in damage.
“(The Mustang) probably got it the worst,” Lawrence said. “He kicked it hard enough along the style line that you can’t just pull that dent out.”
Above the dent, the paint is chipped and scratched, and you can still see the foot print in the dirt on the car from the shoe.
“(It) kind of breaks your heart a little bit when you get to work and the first thing you hear is one of the cars getting kicked in and then you notice it’s four,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence didn’t learn of the sad news until he arrived at work the morning of Black Friday.
Lawrence says the total damage may add up to more than five thousand dollars, which is enough to buy an inexpensive car.
Fortunately the insurance will cover the cost, but Lawrence still wants answers.
“It’s thousands of dollars of damage, and for what reason? There’s no reason it should have happened,” said Lawrence.
Bountiful police are still investigating the cause and who was responsible.
