An obese man was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly using his ATV to deliberately ram into multiple parked Tesla vehicles in an unprovoked hit-and-run rampage in Texarkana, Texas.
KTBS reports that Demarqeyun Marquize Cox, 33, was taken into custody by the Texarkana Police Department after one of his alleged attacks was captured on video by the very Tesla he intentionally crashed into. The incident occurred while the electric vehicle’s owner, Virita Carstaffin, was having lunch inside a nearby restaurant.
The footage, obtained by local news station KTBS, shows the 5-foot-2, 449-pound Cox backing up his ATV and then ramming head-on into the side of Carstaffin’s red Tesla, causing considerable damage to the front driver-side door. Carstaffin, who was alerted to the attack by a phone notification, estimated that replacing the entire door would cost over $1,000.
Police were called to the area after receiving reports of a second Tesla being damaged at a nearby Lowe’s store. Officers stopped Cox just over a mile south of the Golden Palace, with one officer recognizing him from the video of the buffet restaurant incident. During the initial interrogation, Cox allegedly provided a false name and claimed to be someone else, but police were not fooled by his cocky demeanor and proceeded with the arrest.
“Based on what they had seen in the video they knew for a fact that he was the one who at least hit the initial Tesla,” stated Texarkana Police Public Information Officer Shawn Vaughn.
Cox has been charged with felony criminal mischief resulting in damage between $2,500 and $30,000, as well as failure to identify. He is currently being held at the Bi-State Justice Center on a $105,000 bond.
Following the arrest, a third damaged Tesla was reported, with the yet-to-be-determined suspect having carved “ELON” into the side of the other two cars. While Cox has only been charged with damaging the first car, officials stated that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed later.
This incident is the latest in a series of violent assaults and domestic terrorism against the Elon-Musk-owned company, following the billionaire’s work inside the Trump administration. Several arsonists have been accused of setting fire to Tesla vehicles at dealerships, while others have defaced the cars with anti-Trump graffiti. In response, US Attorney General Pam Bondi has charged three of the instigators with domestic terrorism for their alleged crimes, with each facing up to 20 years in prison.
Read more at KTBS here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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