MIAMI (WSVN) - An elderly man was captured on surveillance video scratching up multiple vehicles with a boxcutter, including a Tesla, in Miami.
The Tesla’s owner, James Lipari, showed the aftermath on the hood of his car to 7News.
“Yeah, so, this is the front of the Tesla here. It’s got a nice, big ‘x’ carved in the hood,” Lipari said.
His vehicle’s built-in surveillance system caught the subject appearing to stop in front of the hood before reaching down to carve into the hood of the car.
“I really don’t know the motive other than it was a sunny day, there was nobody around and he had a boxcutter in his pocket,” said Lipari.
Prior to scratching up the Tesla, the elderly man was seen walking down the sidewalk near Northeast 59th Street and Third Avenue.
“You’ll see the suspect walk into frame, kind of look at a couple, left and right, pull out a boxcutter out of his pocket and then he proceeds to do some artwork on my car with his knife,” said Lipari.
The alleged vandal appeared to be unaware or didn’t care that he was being recorded.
“Here he is there, and then he’s walking away over here,” said Lipari, showing the subject do the same thing to a Ford truck that was parked a few spots away on Sunday in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood.
“He’s looking there, making sure nobody’s there and, ‘Why not?'” Lipari said as the elderly man is shown scratching a large “x” across the hood of the truck.
Lipari and the owner of that truck are now left with costly repairs.
“It definitely seems pretty deep,” Lipari said, showing how far down the scratch went into the hood of his car.
Lipari said he’s at a loss why the man would do that to cars that were parked.
“I don’t think the car was doing anything aggressive towards him, it was parked; and he saw a chance to take his anger out on something that was stationary,” said Lipari.
Lipari said he’s already filed a report with Miami Police and wanted to warn residents in the area to be vigilant.
“Just, kind of, sad that somebody at his age is still doing things like that, but, you know, what can you do?” he said.
If you have any information on this crime, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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