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Conviction stands in 2-day car test drive

Posted at 2:53 PM, May 19, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-19 14:53:47-04

PETOSKEY, Mich. (AP) — A test drive might lead to a car sale. For a northern Michigan man, it led to jail.

The state appeals court this week affirmed the conviction and sentence for James Damberg, who drove a woman’s car to Grand Rapids from Petoskey — a distance of 230 miles.

Damberg was gone for two days in 2014. The 2000 Pontiac Bonneville belonged to Gina Stephani, who had to pay to have it towed back to northern Michigan.

Damberg was convicted of using a car without permission. He told jurors that he and Stephani had never agreed on how long he could drive the Bonneville.

Records show Damberg served six months in jail.