A 39-year-old St. Paul man has been charged with first-degree damage to property after police say surveillance video showed him throwing two Lime scooters off the Wabasha Street Bridge and into the Mississippi River. David John Kugler was released from custody and is due back in court next month.
According to KSTP, prosecutors say surveillance cameras captured Kugler on Thursday hurling the scooters off the west side of the bridge. St. Paul police had responded around 4:39 p.m. to the area of Wabasha Street and Kellogg Boulevard after a man was reportedly seen pushing a scooter toward or into the water, according to CBS News.
Court documents cited by the same report put the value of each Lime scooter at $1,365, bringing the total loss from the two destroyed vehicles to more than $2,600. That figure is what underpins the felony charge, since the complaint accuses Kugler of a single count of first-degree damage to property.
A Bigger Mystery Along the Riverfront
The case has drawn attention well beyond two scooters, because dozens more have vanished from the downtown bridge area in recent weeks. Reports differ on the exact scope of the problem: KSTP cites at least 100 scooters reported missing since early September, the Pioneer Press put the number at roughly 105 over the preceding four weeks, and the Star Tribune reported more than 100 missing since the start of September.
Fox 9 reports that investigators are still trying to determine whether Kugler is connected to any of those other disappearances. The station notes that police have not said whether the missing scooters ended up in the river or were taken some other way, and that question remains unresolved.
What Lime and the Law Say
Lime, the company that owns the scooters, says it is taking the losses seriously. In a statement reported by the Star Tribune, the company said it continues to work with local authorities to hold offenders accountable.
Under Minnesota Statutes section 609.595, a person who intentionally damages another person's property without consent can face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both under the first-degree provision cited in the charge against Kugler.
Kugler was released from custody on Monday and is due back in court for an omnibus hearing on Nov. 17, according to the same KSTP report. Whether he faces any additional charges tied to the broader wave of missing scooters remains an open question as the investigation continues.
