Customer disputes repair bill — so mechanic shoots his engine, NC sheriff says
A man in North Carolina was reaching for his billfold when he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
That’s when he tried to drive away — and things got violent.
Deputies arrested 52-year-old Gerald Clifford Cline and 43-year-old Wendi Renei Burton, both from Conover, on charges ranging from common law false imprisonment to discharging a weapon into occupied property, according to a news release.
The incident occurred Tuesday at a repair shop in Lincolnton, where deputies said Samuel Tehandon Sanchez had brought his car to Cline for tire repairs.
“There was an argument over the price of the work that escalated into a disagreement,” the release stated. “Mr. Sanchez decided to pay and got into the vehicle to retrieve his billfold.”
But when he looked out the window, Cline was pointing a gun at him, the release said.
Sanchez tried to leave, but Burton arrived in a Ford Explorer and blocked his exit, according to the release. Cline then fired two shots into the engine compartment — effectively disabling it.
Officers arrived a short time later.
According to the release, Cline was charged with one felony count of discharging a weapon into occupied property, one misdemeanor count each of false imprisonment, injury to personal property and conspiracy, two misdemeanor counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one felony count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
He was jailed under a $50,000 secured bond.
Deputies charged Cline with common law obstruction of justice, common law false imprisonment and conspiracy. Her bond was set at $15,000, according to the release.
