crime scene

We’ve all had that day, where a car that won’t start or a sudden flat tire turns a normal morning into one filled with stress and aggravation. It’s how we deal with that added stress and aggravation that can make our day get better or get much worse. For Michael Lope Montes De Oca in Hialeah, Florida, it started out bad, he made it worse, and then, it got much, much worse…like bullets to the torso worse.

Here’s what happened:

Early on a recent Saturday morning, around 1:30 a.m., Brandon Hurst, a 36-year-old mobile tire repairman, responded to a call from 29-year-old Montes De Oca. Montes De Oca’s car had a flat, and he needed it repaired. What should have been a routine job quickly turned tense. After Hurst installed a used tire, Montes De Oca grew angry, accusing Hurst of cheating him by not installing a new tire. According to the Hialeah Police, what began as a complaint over the tire spiraled into something far more dangerous.

Montes De Oca’s frustration turned into a threat, and, as reported by witnesses and police to CBS News, he then made the wildly illegal and stupid decision to pull out a machete. Continuing to threaten Hurst, Montes De Oca allegedly closed the distance between the men, advancing toward him with the blade raised, ready to treat him like sugar cane in Barbados. Normally, the most danger Hurst had to deal with was the risk of passing cars when changing a tire along a highway (a very real risk to be sure). But now a simple tire change turned life or death situation with a Jason Voorhees/Friday the 13th  wanna be forcing him to react and defend himself. Hurst tried to back away from Montes De Oca, but with the armed customer pressing in, he drew his gun. Perhaps it was Montes De Oca’s anger that blinded him to the realization that the balance of power had tilted in his opponent’s favor. Failing to recognize this new reality, the machete-wielding man charged, forcing Hurst to fire multiple times, striking his attacker and ultimately killing him.

After the defensive shooting, Hurst remained on the scene, recounting the incident to police when they arrived. After interviewing witnesses and examining evidence, detectives deemed the shooting justified, calling it an act of self-defense. And for Montes De Oca, he saw a bad day become his last day all because he couldn’t control his anger. While understandably a bigger pain, maybe calling a supervisor, calling a different company or asking for a new tire to be put on if Hurst had one would’ve been a better choice. Just a thought for those other folks out there tooling around our nation’s highways with machetes in them should you get a flat tire. Choose your actions wisely…and legally.

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22 COMMENTS

  4. “I wanna talk to a supervisor” is a classic. I see that so many times on Cops, OP Live and law enforcement body cam videos that it has become another dog whistle in Stupid-land.

  5. One of a few reasons why we don’t perform remote repairs. We’re located in a small shopping plaza, and I’ll walk across the parking lot with a jump start pack to help someone, but otherwise, if it isn’t in our shop we won’t touch it. We have a friend with a tow truck, decent guy, and we keep him on speed dial for things like this. I’m sure he keeps a Roscoe on speed dial.

      • Sure, he can have it. There are half a dozen tow guys here in a town of 15k, including AAA. We’re not AAA. We’re not set up to do mobile repairs, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that we don’t want to. The terms of our lease do not allow us to work on vehicles out in the parking lot, except for whatever work may be necessary to get the vehicle into a service bay. And, the tow guy I mentioned would charge us only $25 to load up a vehicle in the parking lot and drop it off in a bay (many times he does it for free if the weather’s nice).

  6. I had Behring in Montana build me a Kukri. I’ve thought they looked cool since I was a kid. Anyway, it is cool and I’m sure it would be appreciated in Nepal, but firearms give you standoff. Standoff means a lot.

  7. Gee someone just should have handed someone a Flattire( beer) and been all happy about getting on the road again.
    I tell yah, something is going on with people’s tempers anymore. Don’t know what it is. The economy, coronavirus vaccines, electromagnetic waves, or to much internet.
    Seems like everyone is ready to explode over the least little thing.

    • Too much propaganda and greatly reduced purchasing power compared to flat income increases would explain plenty. The others if applicable would just be bonuses at this point.

  8. All of this could have been avoided if the perp had been carrying a spare tire instead of, or at least as well as, a machete.

  9. I used to stop and help people all the time, that was years ago, not anymore. People are just assholes; they are so stupid they can’t change a flat? Well then, F’em.

  11. I was still recovering from open heart surgery, being chauffered about by my wife, when she suffered a flat caused by road debris. We were about to call someone to help, when a couple of well dressed; dress slacks, shirt and tie, young men stopped to give aid. Instead of machetes they carried Books of Mormon. They changed our flat quickly wouldn’t accept payment and were on their way. Thank you to all of the LDS missionaries out there.

  12. There would have been no shooting at all, if…
    The tire repair specialist had “911” on speed dial. In an instant, a trained social worker, and descalation expert would have been present to quietly and peacefully resolve the situation.

    “Nothing good happens after midnight”.
    – – Mama

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