A Florida man is suing a resort and valet company after a valet attendant gave the keys to his yellow 2014 Ferrari 458 Spider to the wrong man, who then took it on a joyride in what police believe was an attempt to impress a woman. Because of course it was.
The mishap dates back to July 2017 at the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the valet attendant told police things got very busy, and that at some point, a man, identified as Levi Miles, then 28, asked for keys to the Ferrari. He was accompanied by a woman, identified as Chloe Rimmer, 24. In the police report, the man “seemed to be impatient” and was “demanding,” the Times reports. He told the valet the ticket was inside the car and that he would bring it back.
Instead, the valet told police the two sat in the Ferrari for “quite a while.” Figuring he wasn’t getting a tip, he stopped paying attention, and the couple eventually drove off. Police soon pulled them over as they prepared to get on a freeway ramp because the taillights weren’t working. Police also said the driver appeared to be having “difficulty” driving the car. So basically, had he known how to turn on the lights and was capable of driving the thing (admittedly, Ferraris can be tricky), this plan totally would’ve worked. For a bit longer at least.
Then again, the police also found about 2 grams of cocaine on the center console so that might’ve had something to do with the driveability issues.
Police eventually arrested Miles and Rimmer. He had told the officer he was a Marine driving his father’s car. He denied knowing about the drugs. He reportedly acknowledged trying to distract the valet attendant from demanding the valet ticket and said he knew the car wasn’t his.
“Miles stated the vehicle and keys were given to him by (the) valet,” the report reads, “so technically he did not steal the vehicle.”
Miles faces charges of grand theft of more than $ 100,000, possession of cocaine and habitually driving with a suspended or revoked license. Rimmer was charged with possession of marijuana after police found a gram of it in her purse.
According to the Times, Rimmer “admitted it was odd that Miles didn’t seem to know how to ‘drive’ the car, but he did manage to ‘move it.’ But she didn’t think much of it.” The officer who stopped them described her attitude that night thusly: “I’m in a Ferrari, this is nice.”
The lawsuit was filed by James “Skip” Fowler, a 73-year-old senior partner at an Orlando law firm who was in town for a lawyers convention. It lists as defendants Marriott International, Vinoy’s parent company, and 717 Parking for negligence and gross negligence. Fowler claims he spent “significant sums” on car inspections, repairs and legal fees, and that the value of his car has been diminished.
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