A Coast Guard officer’s truck purchase ended with guns drawn after a dealership error triggered a stolen vehicle report
- Coast Guard officer Shane Sprague bought a GMC Sierra AT4X, then was accused of theft.
- A Florida dealership reported the truck stolen after a major paperwork error during the sale.
- Sprague is now suing the dealership for negligence, false imprisonment, and emotional distress.
Buying a new vehicle should be the kind of milestone that leaves you smiling behind the wheel. For Coast Guard officer Shane Sprague, though, that moment of joy turned into something far more unsettling. Just days after driving off in his GMC, he was pulled from the truck at gunpoint by deputies who believed the pickup had been stolen. The mix-up, as it turned out, came down to nothing more than a dealership error.
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The truck at the center of it all was a slightly used 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4X in Thunderstorm Gray. Sprague purchased it on June 21 from Doral Volkswagen in South Florida for $61,230. To seal the deal, he put down a $15,000 deposit, traded his son’s 2012 Ford Focus for $1,500, and financed the rest through the dealer.
Paperwork Gone Wrong
According to documents seen by Autonews, everything looked like a straightforward sale at first. A dealership employee even snapped a photo of Sprague grinning beside the pickup. Behind the scenes, though, the finance manager had allegedly entered the wrong VIN. That single slip made it appear in the system that the Sierra had not been sold, and instead linked Sprague’s tag to a cheaper 2024 Chevrolet 1500.
Days later, the dealership reported the GMC as stolen and activated its LoJack system. That move raised serious concerns, since Sprague’s government security clearance forbids tracking devices and he had never consented to one. In his position as chief maintenance officer at the Opa Locka Coast Guard station, he oversees the helicopters used during presidential visits by Donald Trump, making the oversight even more significant.
Stopped At Gunpoint
The situation came to a head on July 1, when Sprague was leaving a physical therapy appointment. According to the lawsuit, an unmarked Ford F-150 rammed his rear bumper before Broward County deputies surrounded him with guns drawn. Bodycam footage shared on TikoTok shows the Coast Guard officer being handcuffed, searched, and left sitting in a police vehicle without any explanation as to why he was being detained.
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Sprague was taken to the police station and questioned about the pickup. He explained that he had purchased it days earlier and that all the documents were stored on a USB drive at his home. After speaking with the dealership, detectives finally realized he was indeed the rightful owner and released him. By that point, however, the Sierra had already been towed and was no longer accessible to him.
From Purchase To Lawsuit
Following the incident, Sprague canceled the purchase and got his deposit back. He also filed a lawsuit against the dealership, accusing it of negligence, false imprisonment, emotional distress, and violation of Florida’s consumer protection law, seeking damages.
A spokesperson for Lithia Motors who owns Doral Volkswagen issued the following statement: “We are aware of the situation and extend our sincere apologies to Mr. Sprague. This was an isolated occurrence caused by human error. This is not reflective of the level of service that we provide to our customers at Doral Volkswagen. We are committed to working toward a resolution and are in direct contact with Mr. Sprague’s attorney.”
Below is bodycam footage capturing the moment Sprague was detained over the very truck he had legally purchased. With the case now moving forward, he is seeking a refund and hoping his next vehicle purchase will be far less eventful.
