driver

Hialeah Gardens DMV Dispute Caught on Camera

A man who claims he was attacked when he reported wrongdoing outside a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Hialeah Gardens says he has the video to prove it.

Gus Abella says he reported to DMV workers that competing driving instructors were soliciting citizens outside of the facility and was then attacked by a woman outside. Police say the woman, Monica Gonzalez Quevedo, was arrested and charged with battery and told to stay away from the facility.

Abella says Quevedo hit his phone, knocking it from his hands.

"She just took a big hit. I didn't say nothing to her. I had my phone to right about here, and it was like from the face on down, and knocked the phone out of my hand."

Abella said that there had been a history of driving instructors outside in the parking lot of the DMV office not following the letter of the law, specifically by approaching people in the parking lot to try to sell them driving instruction services.

"She was saying, why was I complaining? And she turns to the other driver instructors that were there, and she started saying to them that they needed to get me out of that site — because I was making...a legitimate complaint," Abella said.

When NBC 6's cameras arrived Friday, many of the men and women in the parking lot avoided being seen on video.

Abella says that as a result of the altercation, police told him he couldn't return to the facility. He says that for the month since, he has been unable earn a living. He says police told him that he would be arrested if he was caught on the premises.

"I was assaulted. I have the right to speak up that there was some wrongdoing in the line there," he said.

The woman seen in the video who was charged told NBC 6 the situation had been resolved.

The state says it's standing by its decisions to have the woman arrested and to keep Abella off the premises. 

The state also said that it won't tolerate any solicitation at any of its facilities, and they encourage anyone who's approached or harrassed to report the violation.

Contact Us