Minneapolis Tesla vandal won't be charged for now, will pay for damage and enter diversion program

Yahoo

23-04-2025

A man caught on video vandalizing multiple Tesla vehicles in Minneapolis won't be charged for now, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office has said, but will pay for the estimated $21,000 in damages he caused and enter a diversion program to prevent further offending.
Dylan Brian Adams, 33, was identified as the suspect seen keying six different Tesla vehicles in downtown Minneapolis and in a Target parking lot in Northeast Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said on Friday it's estimated that it caused over $21,000 in damages, and was critical of the HCAO for not bringing formal criminal charges against Adams.
Daniel Borgertpoepping, the spokesperson for the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, told Bring Me The News that the attorney's office is still holding the suspect accountable, and claims its response is consistent with similar cases in which the suspect has no criminal record.
'We want to make sure we are very clear. What Mr. Adams did was wrong and we are holding him accountable for keying the cars. The HCAO did not reject or decline this case. We offered diversion as we often do with property damage cases when the person has no [criminal] record," said Borgertpoepping.
"Mr. Adams will have to complete the requirements of the program. He will also have to pay every penny in restitution to the victims. If he does not meet those requirements, we will proceed through the criminal legal system process.'
According to his LinkedIn, Adams is a fiscal policy analyst at the State of Minnesota's Department of Human Services.
Police showed four surveillance footage videos, showing Adams in action. His strategy appeared to be keying the vehicles as he walked by with his dog, in some cases stopping to write something on them.
The incidents happened in the following areas:
Near the intersection of 5th Avenue South and South 2nd Street
Along South 2nd Street between 5th Avenue South and 3rd Avenue South
Near the intersection of Washington Avenue and 5th Avenue South
In the Northeast Minneapolis Target parking lot at 1650 New Brighton Boulevard at The Quarry
Police said the incidents happened between March 18-31.
Chief O'Hara, along with Sgt. Rob Illetschko, claimed at the time of the announcement of Adams' arrest on Friday that the damages caused were considered to be "felony-level."
"Any frustration related to the charging decision of the Hennepin County Attorney should be directed solely at her office," O'Hara said. "Our investigators are always frustrated when the cases they poured their hearts into are declined. In my experience, the victims in these cases often feel the same.'
"Damage to Teslas like this is a nationwide event. We have a problem nationwide, and here in Minneapolis we would like to put an end to it," Illetschko said on Friday.
Illetschko was alluding to the uptick in vandalisms to Teslas in protest of Tesla CEO and big tech billionaire Elon Musk's actions in the Trump Administration, overseeing wide-ranging federal funding cuts and layoffs as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).Earlier this month, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said an incident of Tesla vandalism in the city was resolved when the suspect came to an agreement with the vehicle owner to pay for the damages.
In March, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi called the attacks on Teslas a "wave of domestic terrorism," committing that the FBI will continue to crack down with heavy sentences.