Chicago Lawyer Accused of Keying Marine’s Car
A Chicago lawyer has been charged with criminal damage to property for allegedly keying the car of a Marine sergeant who backed up when he missed a turn.
The Cook County state’s attorney’s office contends Jay R. Grodner saw vanity plates and a sticker identifying the car’s owner as a military man, and apparently took offense, Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass reports.
He is accused of scratching the black BMW owned by Marine Sgt. Michael McNulty, who planned to sell the vehicle before his second tour of duty in Iraq. McNulty’s friend, Tom Sullivan, told Kass that Grodner became angry after McNulty backed up to make the turn to his house. McNulty parked the BMW to get Sullivan to go out for breakfast, and saw Grodner as he returned to the car, Sullivan said.
“Mike says, ‘Hey, what are you doing to my car? Open up your hand!’ ” Sullivan told the Tribune. “And [Grodner] goes, ‘[Blank] you! Just because you’re in the military you don’t run the roost!’ “
According to the police report, Grodner denied scratching the car but did admit to “rubbing past it.”
The next court date for Grodner is Jan. 18. The Volokh Conspiracy, one of several blogs commenting on the case, ponders what will happen if McNulty can’t appear in court because of his deployment.
