A Memphis woman dropped her luxury car off at a dealership for repairs and got a late-night adventure she never asked for. Thanks to a GPS tracker and some middle-of-the-night determination, she caught a dealership employee behind the wheel of her Mercedes at a bar parking lot, and the fallout has raised serious questions about what really happens to your car when you hand over those keys.
Keely Porter, who goes by the nickname “Onyx” and describes herself as someone who does not play about her ride, brought her C300 AMG to Mercedes-Benz of Collierville in December after the car started stalling on the interstate. The car sat at the dealership for more than a month. That alone would test anyone’s patience. But what happened on the night of January 16th pushed things into a whole different territory.
Porter was at home when her GPS app sent her a notification. She brushed it off at first, assuming it was a glitch. Then a second notification came in. Her car’s location history told a very specific story: it left the dealership at 5:59 p.m., made its way to Cordova, and eventually landed at 2670 North Germantown Parkway, which is the address for Jay Alexander’s restaurant. Then, just after midnight, the ping moved again to the parking lot of TJ Mulligan’s, a bar on Houston Levee Road, roughly 14 miles from where her car was supposed to be sitting safely in a service bay.
She did not wait until morning. Porter got up, grabbed her spare key, drove to the bar, and found her Mercedes parked right there in the lot. She called police, and what happened next turned a strange night into a criminal case that is now also the subject of a civil lawsuit.
How a GPS Tracker Cracked the Case Wide Open
When Memphis Police arrived at TJ Mulligan’s, they found a man inside the car. In his coat pocket was his passport, which quickly helped officers identify him. One of the responding officers reportedly recognized him immediately and noted that he worked at the Mercedes dealership.
The technician, identified in court records as Derrick Wynn, told police he had permission to drive the vehicle. The service manager at Collierville Mercedes, however, told officers that was not true. According to Porter, the manager made it very clear that Wynn was not authorized to be in her car. Police arrested Wynn on the spot and booked him on a charge of theft of property. Court records obtained by local news station WREG also indicate that the responding officer noted Wynn appeared intoxicated, with the odor of alcohol on him when he was taken into custody.
Porter put it plainly: he could have killed someone. Her car was out for more than five hours with an allegedly drunk dealership employee at the wheel.
The Dealership’s Response Made Things Worse
If being woken up by a midnight GPS alert and driving to a bar to reclaim your own car sounds like enough drama, the next day brought a fresh wave of frustration. Porter says a dealership representative called her and told her she needed to come pick up her vehicle immediately or they would report it stolen.
Let that sink in. The dealership employee allegedly took the car without authorization. Then the dealership reportedly threatened to report the car stolen if the owner did not come get it fast enough.
Porter also says she was asked to drop the charges against Wynn. According to her account, someone from the dealership described him as a good kid and urged her to let it go. She said no. Charges remain pending, and Wynn is scheduled to return to court in Collierville in late May.
When WREG reached out to the dealership for comment, General Sales Manager Harold Williams declined to respond in detail, citing the active case. He said the dealership would be happy to address concerns once the matter is settled.
What the Dealership Said About Their Repair Policy
One of the more eyebrow-raising moments in this story came when Porter pressed the dealership to explain why a technician was in her car after hours. She says the general sales manager told her that repair orders customers sign authorize technicians to drive vehicles as part of diagnosing the problem, and that this is something they do regularly.
Porter’s attorney, Kevin Snider, was quick to point out the obvious flaw in that explanation. Five-plus hours at a restaurant and a bar does not exactly qualify as a road test. There is a significant difference between a technician taking a car around the block to check whether a transmission issue has been resolved and taking it across town for a night out.
Snider also noted that Porter never actually signed a repair order because her car had been towed to the dealership, not driven in by her. That matters, because the dealership’s own justification for authorizing test drives rested on a document Porter says she never signed.
What Every Car Owner Should Take Away From This Story
This case is unusual, but the underlying concern is not. Every time you leave your vehicle with a repair shop or dealership, you are extending a significant amount of trust to people you may never meet. Most of the time, that trust is warranted. But this situation is a reminder that it is worth being a little more proactive about protecting yourself.
Here are a few things worth considering before your next service appointment:
Ask about their test drive policy. If a technician needs to drive your car to diagnose a problem, ask how far, for how long, and whether you will be notified first. Get specifics, not vague assurances.
Put your instructions in writing. Porter’s attorney advised customers to explicitly tell any repair facility not to drive the vehicle without calling first. Ask for that to be noted on your repair order.
Consider a GPS tracker. Porter herself said she never would have known what happened without her third-party GPS. These devices are relatively inexpensive and, in this case, led directly to an arrest and a civil lawsuit. They are no longer just for anxious parents tracking new drivers.
Know your rights if something goes wrong. If a dealership or repair shop damages your vehicle, takes it without permission, or behaves dishonestly, you have options. Document everything and consult an attorney if the situation warrants it.
Porter’s story had a resolution most people in her situation never get, because she had the technology to track her own car and the nerve to show up at midnight to reclaim it. Not everyone will be that lucky.