WYNNE, Ark. – A Wynne auto repair shop owner is charged with felony theft after police said he refused to give a customer his pickup or a bill for the work.
Prosecutors charged James Eric Lee, 58, on Tuesday in Cross County Circuit Court with theft of property, a Class D felony, and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.
Wynne police arrested Lee Aug. 24 at his shop at 2321 Bartlett Road, according to a probable cause affidavit written by the arresting officer. Better Business Bureau records list Lee as the owner of Complete Automotive Repair at that address.
The customer told police he dropped off his 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 at the shop Aug. 12 for a diagnostic test, the affidavit said.
The customer said he told Lee on Aug. 21 that he would pick up the truck after work and asked what he owed. Lee told him the bill would be $300 to $400, according to the affidavit.
The customer arrived at 4:30 p.m., a half-hour before closing time, and found the shop locked and his truck moved inside a service bay, the affidavit said. A mechanic told him Lee had instructed employees to move the truck inside and wanted them to leave early.
He returned shortly before 8 a.m. Aug. 24 to pay. Lee told him the bill was not ready and would be close to $600, and refused to give him an itemized bill, according to the affidavit.
The customer told Lee he would call the police.
“If you call the police, it’ll be $700,” Lee said, according to the affidavit.
Lee told the officer he did not know what the bill would be because he had ordered a transmission for the truck and would have to ship it back if he did not install it, the affidavit said.
Lee also said the customer could not have the truck because a claims department was involved and would deny the claim if it saw additional mileage on the truck, according to the affidavit. The affidavit does not name the company.
The officer stepped outside to give Lee time to total the bill and went back in after 45 minutes, the affidavit said. The officer reported overhearing Lee on the phone with the claims department, saying he would have to send the transmission back if he released the truck.
“We never approved a transmission service for this truck,” the claims representative said, according to the affidavit.
The officer asked again for the bill.
“I don’t have a bill. He’s not taking his truck; I don’t have to release his truck,” Lee said, according to the affidavit.
The officer told Lee he had to release the truck if he could not provide a bill, unless he had obtained a mechanic’s lien, and that keeping it would be considered theft, the affidavit said.
Lee began screaming and slamming his hands on his desk and told the officer to leave his property before he called his attorney, the affidavit said.
When the officer told him he was in custody and to put his hands behind his back, Lee said, “No. I’m not,” according to the affidavit. He was handcuffed and placed in a patrol car.
A mechanic at the shop told a second officer that the diagnostic test was the only work completed on the truck and that a bill for about $256 was ready inside the shop, the affidavit said. The mechanic said he did not understand why Lee would not release the truck.
The truck’s key fob was not with other customers’ keys, the affidavit said. It was on a top shelf in Lee’s office.
The customer stayed at the shop to pay the bill and get his truck, according to the affidavit.
The officer estimated the truck’s value at $7,750 to $9,600. The charge prosecutors filed alleges property worth at least $1,000 but less than $5,000.
Arkansas law gives auto repair shops a lien on a vehicle for money owed for work and materials.
Police also arrested Lee on a charge of resisting arrest. The charging document filed Tuesday does not include that charge.
Lee appeared Sept. 3 before District Judge Danny Glover, who found probable cause and released him on his own recognizance, court records show.
Lee is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Oct. 29 in circuit court. Court records did not list an attorney for him Tuesday.
A Class D felony is punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Charges are accusations. Lee is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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