A man accused of vandalizing more than a dozen Teslas with spray paint in Irvine in the span of a week has been arrested, police said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, officers arrested 25-year-old Max Sebastian Solomon of Irvine at his apartment, located across the street from where the vandalism incidents occurred, according to the Irvine Police Department. He was booked into the Orange County Jail for felony vandalism.
Investigators say a previous incident in which a man spit on a Tesla that was stopped at an intersection helped lead them to Solomon. Detectives looked into the takeout order that the man was carrying at the time of the incident.
The arrest comes after the police department released several videos last week in hopes that someone would recognize the alleged vandal.
In the video shared on July 20, the suspect was seen spray painting a Tesla in a parking garage near Michelson Drive and Carlson Avenue at around 10:30 p.m. on July 17. At the time, the department said he was believed to have vandalized four vehicles.
Last Friday, officials released a surveillance video of the suspect who they say went to a nearby parking garage and spray-painted nine more Teslas the night before, bringing the total of vandalized vehicles to 13.
“So far, on the damage that we’re seeing is red spray paint across each of these Teslas, all with different kinds of messaging, but majority of them are all offensive language,” Irvine police Officer Ziggy Azarcon told NBC Los Angeles.
Azarcon said the department upped its patrols in the area after the incidents. The officer also urged community members to park in well-lit, highly populated areas or in the garage when possible.
Police were still investigating a possible motive but say it appears the suspect was only targeting Teslas.