Tesla Supercharger vandal has been arrested

Earlier this year, we reported on a strange incident in Utah where a Tesla Supercharger station was vandalized. A man has now admitted to the crime and has been arrested by the local police.

On January 26th, Tesla owners found that Tesla’s Supercharger station in St. George had several damaged charge connectors and cables.

It became evident that someone had been vandalizing the charging station by trying to cut the cables and drill into the charge connectors – pictured above via Mark Larsen.

The vandalism incident against Tesla happened just after several instances of pickup truck drivers taking over Supercharger stations in apparent protests against Tesla.

Now, we learn that a man was arrested and has confessed to the vandalism of the Supercharger in Utah.

52-year-old Johnny Doak was arrested for trespassing on the night of the incident, January 25th, and he later bragged about causing the damages at the Tesla Supercharger, according to witnesses.

An investigating officer spoke with him and he confessed.

The reason why he targeted Tesla’s Supercharger station is not clear, but he said he was drunk and grieving at the time:

The St. George News reported:

“When the officer met with Doak at the jail, he admitted to causing the damage, describing how he had been drinking heavily that night and was grieving the death of a family member, according to the police statement.”

Tesla said that the repairs, which took 3 days and affected access to the station, cost about $8,000.

Doak was charged with a count of second-degree felony criminal mischief involving damage of more than $5,000. He remains in custody on $10,000 bond.

Electrek’s Take

Like I wrote in my first post about this, this kind of vandalism isn’t like graffiti or something. It’s serious vandalism and a serious crime in many jurisdictions.

Now, I wonder if he was just drunk and stumbled upon a Tesla Supercharger or if he actually targeted it out of hatred for Tesla, like we have seen in previous examples of anti-Tesla protest.

But if he was bragging about it, it sounds like it had something to with Tesla and wasn’t random.

Well, it’s dumb either way.