Texas car dealership killed repossession lender – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Chester T. Dean
3 min read
An Arlington man faces a capital murder charge after he was accused of fatally shooting a car dealer who was repossessing a loaner vehicle on Monday.
Brian Espy, 31, was arrested in Grand Prairie on Wednesday by members of the US Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by NBC 5 on Friday, Espy purchased a BWM sedan from Salem Autos about a month ago and returned the vehicle for repair. Espy received a loaner Jeep Grand Cherokee while his vehicle was repaired.
A Salem Autos employee told police the dealership fixed the BMW and Espy’s mother picked up the sedan but the Jeep was not returned.
On Monday, May 16, 52-year-old Adel Salem Elhindawi and an employee followed the Jeep to the 2600 block of Alexis Avenue, the 2600-apartment Mark, and went to retrieve the vehicle.
The employee and Elhindawi took his Dodge Charger into the apartment complex, located the Jeep, and used a spare key to enter the vehicle. The employee then drove the Jeep to the exit.
According to the arrest document, a resident of the apartments told police she was inside her apartment when she heard gunshots. She said she looked out the back patio door and spotted a man walking through the parking lot shooting a gun at the driver of the Dodge Charger. The woman said the man then got into the passenger seat of a Volkswagen that drove through the west parking lot.
The employee who drove away in the Jeep also reported seeing a man in the parking lot shooting in their direction. The employee said they sped up and left the compound, stopping outside to call Elhindawi.
The employee told police that moments later a Volkswagen pulled up and a man got out of the passenger seat and pointed a gun in their direction, saying he knew they were working for Salem Auto and asked for the keys. The employee said he begged to stay unharmed and put the keys in the driver’s seat.
As the man got into the Jeep, police say the employee managed to use his cell phone to take photos of the man and woman driving the Volkswagen and provided them to police. The apartment complex later confirmed that the woman driving the VW lived in the community.
The employee is unharmed. Elhindawi, meanwhile, was hospitalized at Medical City Arlington and died Thursday.
Espy was found in Grand Prairie and arrested and initially charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated robbery. With Elhindawi dead, these charges should be upgraded to capital murder.
Officers also arrested Quyanna Massie, 24, who police believe is the woman driving the Volkswagen. She was sentenced to Arlington City Jail on one count of aggravated robbery.
It’s unclear whether Massie or Espy got lawyers.
