from Unravel and Mainstream News
Mesa police officers arrested 35-year-old [name] on suspicion of setting a Tesla Cybertruck on fire in the early morning hours of April 28.
Officials said [name] rode up on a bicycle and opened the door to a “suspicious van” parked near the dealership at Southern Avenue and Sossaman Road. “The Tesla Security Center provided photo evidence of the arson suspect and officers were able to match the photo to [name],” the bicyclist, Mesa police Detective Brandi Myers said in a statement.
Officers found [name] and booked him into jail on one count of arson of structure and property, Myers said. [Name] was released at 1:44 p.m. to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives so that the federal agency could handle its own charges against [name].
Mesa fire crews had responded to calls for a vehicle fire at 2 a.m. at the Tesla dealership, city officials said. Officials later said they were called in for reports of an “explosion.” Fire crews arrived on scene and found a Cybertruck on fire near the building. The fire had not spread to other cars, nor to the inside of the building, city officials said.
The word “theif” was spray painted in black across the northeast side of the building near the back corner of the shop, near Southern Avenue and Sossaman Road. Two police cars blocked the entrance as of 7:30 a.m., and it appeared as though employees were showing up to work, only to be turned away.
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[Name] was accused of malicious damage to a vehicle by means of fire, according to a criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. The complaint was brought by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosions Agent Cory Borkenhagen.
In newly released information, law enforcement officials wrote in the complaint that [name] was found wearing a black backpack filled with relevant materials — a black mask, a red plastic gas can, a lighter and a black spray paint can.
[Name] was also carrying a hand-drawn map depicting the site.
“The handwritten map depicted the location of the subject Tesla dealership as a box with a letter ‘T,'” the complaint said.
Mesa police arrested [name] after matching him to video footage provided by the Tesla Security Center. First responders had responded to a call at 2 a.m. on April 28 of an emergency at the dealership. Police officers arrived to find a Cybertruck “engulfed in flames” and the word “theif” spraypainted on the exterior wall of the building.
Tesla provided multiple video recordings of the vandalism, which law enforcement said showed the suspect in a dark hooded sweatshirt, tan ballcap, grey pants, black boots and a black mask. He also carried a black backpack, and, at times, a red plastic gas container, the complaint said.
During one of the videos, the man “places what appeared to be fire starter logs next to three areas on the outside wall” of the dealership. In another video, the man can be seen “pouring a liquid from the red plastic gas container onto the fire starter logs, the dealership wall, and onto Tesla vehicles.”
At roughly 1:38 a.m., the complaint said, the man “then used a lighter device to ignite the starter logs; leading a fire that engulfed the silver Cybertruck.”
The complaint includes several screenshots of the security footage and photos of the destroyed Cybertruck.