Coast Guard Officer Arrested After Dealership Sells Him Truck Then Reports It Stolen

When Coast Guard Officer Shane Sprague bought a 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4X in Thunderstorm Gray, he expected the deal to be straightforward. He left South Florida's Doral Volkswagen on June 21 after depositing $15,000 while covering the remaining price through a trade in and financing. Unfortunately, he had no way to know that the dealership's finance manager had made a mistake with the VIN, accidentally linking his plates to a different truck. 

That clerical error led the dealership to report the Sierra as stolen and trigger its LoJack tracker. However, Sprague never agreed to having a tracker installed, which was particularly concerning since his work on helicopters occasionally used by high ranking government officials meant that his security clearance prohibited the use of tracking devices on his vehicles.

On July 1, after leaving a physical therapy appointment, Sprague was suddenly surrounded by deputies. An unmarked Ford F-150 rammed his truck, and Broward Sheriff's Office officers pulled him out at gunpoint. He spent four hours in a jail cell before detectives finally confirmed he was the rightful owner. By then, the truck had already been towed away, and the incident had left him shaken.

Sprague canceled the purchase soon after and filed a lawsuit accusing Doral Volkswagen of negligence, false imprisonment, and emotional distress. His legal team is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and argues the dealership failed to perform basic due diligence before reporting the vehicle stolen. His attorney, Ignacio Alvarez, described the event as gross negligence that escalated into a dangerous situation no customer should ever face.

Sprague has since spoken publicly about the ordeal, saying his life was turned upside down. He went from being a decorated 27-year Coast Guard veteran to receiving online messages from strangers accusing him of stealing a truck. "I was pulled out of my truck by BSO and put in a jail cell for four hours," he told NBC 6. "It was one of the scariest events of my life that I [couldn't] ever prepared for."

The dealership, owned by Lithia Motors, has issued a statement calling the case an isolated human error. Lawyers for Doral Volkswagen have moved to compel arbitration, aiming to settle the matter outside of court through a neutral third party. They expressed regret and apologized, but Sprague was still left driving a rental car while waiting for the case to move forward.

The mix-up highlights a growing issue with dealership errors and hidden tracking devices in vehicles after sale. While this incident may have been unintentional, it shows how a simple VIN mistake can spiral into a felony stop, a jail cell, and a legal battle. Which is why you should always know where to find your vehicle's VIN number – you never know when you might need it.