A 70-year-old man has been apprehended after allegedly being caught on camera damaging multiple vehicles in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. Frantz Brandt, who faced accusations of criminal mischief, reportedly used a box cutter to key two vehicles, recording the act on a Tesla's security system. Brandt's bond was set at $2,500, WSVN reported.
The incidents occurred on Northeast 59th Street and Second Avenue, where video showed Brandt scratching an "X" onto the hood of a Tesla Model 3 and a nearby pickup truck; James Lipari, the Tesla owner, after receiving a push notification from the Sentry Pro app that a disturbance was detected near his vehicle found his car vandalized, according to CBS News Miami.
Brandt, was arrested on Thursday after police spotted him at a bus stop at NW 2 Avenue and NW 64 Street, and he is known in the community frequently visiting the Little Haiti Cultural Center, which is located at 212 NE 59 Terrace; this local familiarity aided in his identification. "When I first saw the video, I just couldn't believe it," Lipari told WSVN, expressing his shock and dismay over the random nature of the vandalism.
Lipari faced an expensive repair, as Tesla estimated it would cost over $1,200 to fix the damage, since not only did the hood of the car require work, but additional panels needed attention as well to ensure the paint color matched, the burden of property damaged in the space of mundane the violation of trust that cars, however luxurious, should not be ravaged by mere caprice, CBS News Miami learned from Lipari.
