Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
When a car full of teenagers imitated an old mustard commercial made famous in the ‘80s, they got a response they never expected.
The response had the teens scared for their lives. They asked the driver of the car next to them at a stoplight in Murray if he had any Grey Poupon. He answered by pulling out a gun.
Most of us are familiar with the question: "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?" That's thanks to a number of Grey Poupon commercials that aired on televisions across the country in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
The famous response "but of course" was not the response a car full of teenagers got when they asked that same question. The driver of the car next to them, 22-year-old Vitaly Kovtun, instead pulled out a gun.
"He racked the slide back and basically told the other kid, ‘Here's your Grey Poupon. Now, roll up your window,'" said Detective Kenny Bass, with the Murray City Police Department.
The teens jotted down the driver's license plate number, and Murray police arrested Kovtun. Police say he admitted he pulled out the gun.
"They were just goofing around, as teenagers do, just kind of playing a little joke. They didn't think it would be that big of a deal and [were] obviously scared to death when it happened," Bass said.
Kovtun, who holds a concealed weapons permit, has been charged with aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
"It's a horrible idea. The idea behind the concealed weapons permit is strictly for your own safety, for your own defense, to defend yourself against a threat of death," Bass said.
We spoke to the department that issues concealed weapons permits. A representative told us, over the phone, Kovtun's permit will be suspended until there is a resolution in the case.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
