A man threatened Glenda Defas with a hammer before carjacking her car. Her brother, who is disabled and deaf, was a passenger. The assailant later totaled the car following a police chase – a car Glenda had just paid off after seven years, leaving her helpless and distraught.
Rick Case Automotive Group President and CEO Rita Case heard her story and was moved to help. She gifted a surprised Glenda with a free car. Glenda was overwhelmed by Rita’s generosity. “He destroyed seven years of my life,” Glenda said. “But Jesus sent me this angel to release my tragedy,” she said about Rita.
Weeks prior, Glenda Defas was parking her SUV in Miami when a man asked her for money. When she told the man she didn’t have any money, he approached her with a hammer and threatened her, she said.
“I was shaking because the guy was threatening me with a hammer,” Defas said. “(I said) 'You're going to destroy yourself for this and you'll destroy my life?'"
Defas walked away, but moments later, the man got inside her SUV and took off. Her brother, who is disabled and deaf, was inside the vehicle but got out when the man hopped in.
“My brother came running and said, Glenda, the guy took the car,” Defas said. Defas said several of her personal belongings were inside the SUV, including her credit card, which she said the suspect later used. She said the suspect also sold several of her belongings. Defas had to borrow a phone so she could call 911.
“It took seven years to pay this car and finally I had no more payments, and this happened,” Defas said. “I feel hopeless, I feel destroyed.”
Defas went searching for her vehicle. According to an arrest report, the next day, a license plate reader picked up the stolen SUV in the city of Miami. The man inside the SUV was identified as Savalas Cigar. Police said when they tried to pull Cigar over, he sped off. The assailant later totaled the car following a police chase.
Defas said she hadn't slept much in days. “I'm trying to do my best, and I think I don't deserve this,” Defas said. “This is not right, this is not right.”
Click the link to view this story on NBC 6: https://www.nbcmiami.com/on-air/as-seen-on/rick-case-automotive-surprises-carjacking-victim-with-free-suv/3400522/