He tried to trade a rental car for a Mercedes. That didn’t work so he lit a fire, cops say.
Sanjeev Grewal tried to trade a Ford Fusion in for a new car at the Mercedes Benz of Miami Friday.
Employees at the Miami Gardens dealership refused when they found out he didn’t own the car — it was a rental, cops said. Records showed Grewal rented the car in Las Vegas in September, according to a police report.
But instead of taking no for an answer, Grewal, who is a resident of British Columbia in Canada, allegedly came back in after midnight on Saturday and started a fire that destroyed five cars and damaged three more, police said.
On Monday, Grewal, 36, was released from the hospital and taken to Miami Gardens police headquarters where he was arrested. He was charged with arson and criminal mischief. He was in Miami-Dade’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on an immigration hold Tuesday night.
According to Miami Gardens police, officers were called to the dealership, 1200 Northwest 167th St., at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday because multiple cars were on fire in the sales lot.
Several vehicles were “found to be totally engulfed in flames,” police said.
The Miami–Dade Fire Department extinguished the fire and determined that five cars were destroyed and three were damaged, causing about $300,000 in damage.
The department said the investigation had led them to Grewal. Grewal had visited the dealership the day before the fire and “raised concerns from employees who related that information to investigators,” the department said in a news release.
When employees ran the car’s information, it came back as being owned by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Police said that early in the morning on Saturday, Grewal parked on the north side of the business along Northwest 167th Street and “poured a flammable liquid on a vehicle and then ignited it on fire.”
Then he took off.
Miami Gardens police issued an alert for Grewal and for the vehicle he was driving.
At about 7 a.m., Miami Beach Police were called to the Design Hotel at 6080 Collins Ave. because of a disturbance involving Grewal.
“Officers detected a strong odor of gasoline on him and the room he occupied,” Miami Gardens police said in the news release. “Subject Grewal’s car was located, which had a strong odor of gasoline, and several empty bottles that were stuffed with paper resembling Molotov cocktails.”
Under Florida’s Baker Act, Grewal was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Miami Beach investigators realized Grewal and his car matched the description put out by Miami Gardens.
After being released from the hospital on Monday, Grewal was taken into custody, police said. He refused to speak to detectives, the department said.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 7:40 PM.
