Lincoln man arrested 6 months after injuring mechanic, not paying bill

A Lincoln man is charged with assault and the alleged crime was caught on tape. 

A police report says a man had dropped off his vehicle for repairs in May and had paid $300 prior to the service. When he came back, staff members started his vehicle to show him it had been fixed.

They said they left the keys in the ignition with the vehicle running and reminded the man that he still owed $350. When the man said he could not pay the bill, that’s when he got back into the vehicle and drove off.

The owner of the business explained what happened to him.

“I just get back next to his car to tell him hey what are you going to do you didn’t pay I mean the car we are fixing on it so he just hit the gas, hit me and ran,” Owner at Denver Auto Sales, Abdulrahman Younis said.

The surveillance video shows the customer driving away and Younis was hanging on to the car. He was dragged for a short time and then rolled, causing injuries that would end up turning into surgery on his hand.

Younis says safety has been a real issue, a day like that is something you hope to one day forget.

“Normal people, I mean normal clothes and normal everything but I can’t trust anyone because you never know what’s going to happen,” Younis said.

Six months after the incident, police arrested 26-year-old Hope Npimnee on November 18th for 2nd degree assault and theft. Police say the surveillance video matched up to Younis’ story that day.

The cameras at his business are on 24 hours a day. They were a big part in finding Npimnee.

Younis is left with a scar on his hand and isn’t able to lift anything over 5 or 6 pounds.