- An 18-year-old buyer was arrested after a dealer reported her car stolen.
- Prosecutors later dropped every felony charge tied to the disputed purchase.
- Anaheim agreed to pay $250,000, while continuing to deny any wrongdoing.
The devil is in the details, and there’s nowhere it’s truer than at a car dealership. One 18-year-old woman bought her first car, and then things took a turn. The dealer couldn’t find a lender but, according to the lawsuit, failed to disclose that until weeks after the sale. Then it allegedly got the police involved, and now that department is on the hook for $250,000. It’s a tangled web that we’ll unravel below.
This entire story starts with Russell Westbrook Hyundai in Anaheim, California. It sold an Elantra to Deja Bush back in 2023. According to documents obtained by the LA Times, the dealer inked the sale with Bush, but did so before securing a lender to finance her payments. It reportedly waited some 20 days before telling her that, by which point the deal was past the ten-day window the dealer supposedly had to unwind it.
When Police Became Repo Agents
Bush refused to return the car, so the dealer evidently sent Anaheim police after her. Importantly, police do not routinely get involved in civil matters like this one. Bodycam footage of one officer allegedly shows him indicating some trepidation with the idea of arresting Bush over the contractual dispute. That said, arresting her is exactly what officers did at her place of work not long after.
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She was charged with felony receiving stolen property and unlawfully taking a vehicle, offenses that carried the possibility of prison time. Prosecutors ultimately dismissed all charges in January 2025. Bush later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging Anaheim police violated her constitutional rights by effectively acting as repossession agents for the dealership.
Anaheim Pays, Admits Nothing
Her attorneys further allege Russell Westbrook Hyundai had reported more than a dozen vehicles stolen under similar circumstances since 2021. They argue Anaheim police routinely intervene in dealership disputes that should instead be handled through civil channels.
The City of Anaheim has agreed to pay Bush $250,000 to resolve the lawsuit while admitting no wrongdoing. City attorneys argued in court filings that officers acted within the scope of their duties and disputed liability. If true, taxpayers might want to inquire with their local government about why it just shelled out a quarter of a million bucks.
