Full-On Firefight Erupts After Argument Over Temporary License Plate

LOUISVILLE, KY — A man was thrown into custody after starting a firefight in a local car dealership parking lot after a fight over, of all things, a temporary tag.

The shooting ended up with two employees seriously injured, an an already convicted felon in a world of trouble.

As WDRB reports:

According to an arrest report, 26-year-old Dominique Tribble was taken into custody shortly after the shooting was reported. The shootings took place on Millers Lane, near South 23rd Street, at about 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday. A man and a woman were shot.

It started when witnesses say Tribble walked into a nearby business and asked for a temporary tag for a vehicle he’d recently purchased. He then got into an argument with the business owner, and was asked to leave. As he was backing his vehicle out of the parking lot, another employee arrived and was walking in Tribble’s direction. That’s when police say Tribble opened fire on the man.

When the business owner saw that his employees were being shot at, he grabbed a handgun and began returning fire. At some point during the shooting, two employees — a man and a woman — were shot several times in the upper body area.

When Shively Police arrived, the business owner was able to point them in the direction of Tribble. Tribble was arrested at the corner of South 23rd Street and Ratcliffe Avenue, after police say a large amount of methamphetamine and three hydrocodone pills were discovered on his person… Tribble was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree assault, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, first-degree wanton endangerment, tampering with physical evidence and drug trafficking.

Oof. That’ll be a hard batch of charges to beat, and I’d bet he’s in jail for quite a long time.

Upon reading this account, I asked myself: “Why on earth would a criminal want a set of temporary tags? Did all of this stem from an innocent business gaff?”

While it’s still possible, I did a little digging and discovered that yes, indeed — criminals regularly seek out temporary tags.

As WTOP notes, temporary tags are often used in a type of identity theft. John Doe turns in his temporary tags after he gets his permanent one, James X the criminal steals the tag and drives around with abandon, with tickets and fines being shot over to John Doe.

Now, for a criminal to snag a tag for a car of his own doesn’t necessarily lead to this mode of criminality, but it could be something as simple as selling that temporary tag to another thug, and neither of them having to face the penalties.

Whatever it is, however, it’s obviously, clearly not enough cause for a firefight at a car dealership, for crying out loud.

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