Temptations Tragedy: Video of Repo Assault Lands Bartender in Prison

Watch the Video of the Incident Here

Beaumont, TX – March 27, 2025 – Video captured it all. Her backing up with him under the hood. Her ramming the car full speed into a car twenty yards away and crushing him between. After watching the horrifying incident in court, it only took the jury about an hour to decide her fate.

On Thursday the 27^th, closing arguments were made in Judge John Stevens’ courtroom. On trial, Carla Culver, the 49-year-old bartender who crushed the legs of a car dealer trying to repossess her Hyundai.

Temptations Tragedy: Video of Repo Assault Lands Bartender in Prison — Moments before the crash

Culver faced charges of Aggravated Assault Causing Serious Bodily Injury stemming from a crash that critically injured John Neves outside Temptations nightclub. Neves had sold the Hyundai Elantra to Culver, but she had fallen behind on payments. After several months of her hiding, he had found her, and at what a cost.

Surveillance footage captured the moment of the crash from strip club surveillance cameras, while bodycam footage from Beaumont police documented the aftermath. The jury watched both.

In a police interrogation video taken at the police station after the incident, Culver admitted to intentionally putting the car in drive, despite knowing Neves was under the hood. “Yes sir,” she responded tearfully when asked if she could see and hear him.

According to a probable cause affidavit, police found Neves lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from his left leg, which had been ripped up and turned to the side. Witnesses reported that as Neves worked under the hood, Culver drove forward, smashing his leg between two vehicles. Beaumont EMS listed him in critical condition, and he required emergency surgery at CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Neves took the stand Wednesday and Thursday, recounting his attempt to repossess the car and the devastating injury that followed. When the defense attorney asked if the incident was entirely Culver’s fault, Neves replied emphatically, “You’re d—n right it was.” He described how his military training helped him guide a bouncer to use a belt as a tourniquet, fearing he might bleed out without quick action.

During the punishment phase after the lunch break, Culver testified, expressing her remorse.

“I’m not here to make excuses for my actions,” she said. “I do want to apologize to you John Neves, and your family, for my poor choices and my actions in causing you and your family so much grief and pain. It was never my intention to ever hurt you or anyone else.”

Lead prosecutor Mike Laird questioned Culver about her past, including a probation revocation on a 2014 misdemeanor theft charge and a one-year sentence to county jail, of which she served four months due to unpaid fees. When asked if she could complete ten years of probation in this case, Culver insisted she could. Laird challenged her accountability, suggesting she only took responsibility when found guilty.

A Beaumont detective testified about Culver’s interview hours after the crash, where she admitted to “intentionally and knowingly” driving into Neves. The detective confirmed she never mentioned issues with the car’s acceleration or brakes and acknowledged being behind on payments.

The defense suggested her emotional state may have influenced her admission, while Neves testified that he wouldn’t have attempted the repossession had he known she was in the car.

Laird proposed a sentence based on Culver’s age at the time of the incident, 46 or 47 arguing for a minimum of 10 or 11 years, noting that Neves might be in a wheelchair or using a walker by her release due to his injuries.

After about an hour of deliberation following closing arguments, the jury reached a verdict. Later that afternoon, they returned with their decision on punishment.

Facing anywhere from 2-20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, Culver received an 8-year sentence. As Judge Stevens read the jury’s verdict, Culver broke down in tears.

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