---
title: "‘Series of Bad Decisions’ Lands Chevy Camaro Driver With ‘DIRTBAG’ Vanity Plate in Jail"
description: "The driver of a Chevrolet Camaro with a custom license plate reading \"DIRTBAG\" truly lived up to expectations after threatening another driver with a handgun following a minor fender-bender, making racist statements about the victim's ethnicity, and punching an officer who arrived to arrest him, according to the Bellevue Police Department."
date: "2018-02-13"
modified: "2018-02-13"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/18460/series-of-bad-decisions-lands-chevy-camaro-driver-with-dirtbag-vanity-plate-in-jail"
categories:
  - "Chevrolet News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Camaro"
  - "Chevrolet"
  - "Chevrolet Camaro"
  - "Coupe"
  - "Crime"
  - "police"
  - "road rage"
  - "sports car"
  - "Washington"
---

# ‘Series of Bad Decisions’ Lands Chevy Camaro Driver With ‘DIRTBAG’ Vanity Plate in Jail

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/02/dv4jvhyuqaefgee-copy.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

The driver of a [Chevrolet Camaro](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/7976/chevy-camaro-zl1-500-miles-to-daytona-500>) with a custom license plate reading "DIRTBAG" truly lived up to expectations after threatening another driver with a handgun following a minor fender-bender, making racist statements about the victim's ethnicity, and punching an officer who arrived to arrest him, [according to the Bellevue Police Department.](<https://bellevuebeatblog.com/2018/02/13/series-of-bad-decisions-ends-with-mans-arrest-in-bellevue/>)

The incident went down at an automatic car wash in Bellevue, Washington on Sunday when the 40-year-old driver of the Camaro [rear-ended](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/13046/unlucky-honda-civic-type-r-owner-gets-rear-ended-heading-home-from-dealer>) another car while they were waiting in line in the parking lot. As the other driver got out of his car to photograph the damage—the suspect's DIRTBAG plate is visibly crumpled in a police handout—the Camaro driver reportedly pointed a handgun at him and made several threats. [There's no word on whether he was blasting Iron Maiden at the time.](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3y9llDXuM>)

https://twitter.com/_/status/963218084390555648

As for the ["series of bad decisions"](<https://bellevuebeatblog.com/2018/02/13/series-of-bad-decisions-ends-with-mans-arrest-in-bellevue/>) described by police, it all went downhill from there. As officers showed up to arrest him, the man got back in his Camaro and refused to exit. A small "melee" then broke out as police tried to physically remove him from the vehicle, all while he threatened to kill the officers and made more racist statements about the victim.

He also managed to punch one of the officers in the face, who was later taken to the hospital for observation, but police eventually used a Taser to take him down. He's facing charges for first degree assault, assaulting a police officer, harassment, and resisting arrest. But hey, [at least he wasn't driving an I-ROC.](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3y9llDXuM>)

https://youtube.com/embed/FC3y9llDXuM

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)