A Salem man was arrested Tuesday in connection with two incidents at Salem’s Tesla dealership that led to at least $500,000 in damage.
The 41-year-old man faces a federal charge of illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device, which court documents identified as Molotov cocktails.
At about 3:45 a.m. on Jan. 20, Salem Police officers responded to a report of an individual throwing Molotov cocktails at the Tesla dealership, located at 2755 Mission St. SE, according to court documents.
Officers found a fire on the sidewalk in front of the building and another fire in the back of a vehicle parked at the dealership, court documents said. Police said an eyewitness saw someone throw five or six objects.
Surveillance video from a patrol car parked near the dealership captured a vehicle registered to the man, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
Surveillance video from the Tesla dealership shows the man first threw a “Molotov Cocktail-style device” at a truck, but it bounced off the truck and did not ignite, according to court documents.
