Suspect in Tesla vandalism spree in Minneapolis to be entered into diversion program and not charged

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has decided not to file criminal charges against a 33-year-old man accused of inflicting $21,000 in damage to six Teslas in Minneapolis over a few-day span.

Instead, the office will file for Dylan Bryan Adams, of Minneapolis, to be entered into an adult diversion program meant for first-time, low level offenders.

“Our main priorities are to secure restitution for the victims and hold Mr. Adams accountable,” said Hennepin County Attorney’s Office spokesman Daniel Borgertpoepping in a statement. “As a result, we will file for pre-charge diversion to best facilitate both of those goals. This is an approach taken in many property crime cases and helps to ensure the individual keeps their job and can pay restitution, as well as reducing the likelihood of repeat offenses. Criminal prosecution remains a possibility should unlawful behavior continue.”

Adams works for the state Department of Human Services (DHS). A state database says he is a program consultant.

“We are reviewing the matter at this time,” read a statement from DHS sent to the Star Tribune on Monday. “State employees are expected to follow our code of conduct and hold themselves to the highest ethical standards through their words and actions.”

In recent months, people across the country and in the Twin Cities have vandalized Tesla vehicles in protest of Elon Musk, an advisor to President Donald Trump, and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as they significantly cut federal workers and programs.

Adams was arrested and booked into jail Wednesday morning and released Thursday afternoon.

“My client is very remorseful for his actions, and is beginning the process of making sure the victims are made whole financially,” said Adams’ attorney Robert Paule, in an email. “We are grateful for the Hennepin County Attorneys Office exercise of prosecutorial discretion, and apologize to the victims and law enforcement.”

In a statement provided Monday night, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara voiced frustration about Adams not being formally charged.

“The Minneapolis Police Department did its job,” O’Hara said. “It identified and investigated a crime trend, identified, and arrested a suspect, and presented a case file to the Hennepin County Attorney Office for consideration of charges. This case impacted at least six victims and totaled over $20,000 in damages. Any frustration related to the charging decision of the Hennepin County Attorney should be directed solely at her office. Our investigators are always frustrated when the cases they poured their hearts into are declined. In my experience, the victims in these cases often feel the same.”

The estimated damage to the Teslas that Adams allegedly keyed ranged from about $1,600 on one car to $10,370 on another, according to police.

Participants in the county attorney’s diversion program are expected to sign a contract which could include conditions like community service and restitution payments. They are also referred to services such as chemical dependency or mental health resources. Part of the goal with diversion is to reduce costs in the criminal justice system and the number of repeat offenders.

At a news conference last week, police showed car camera videos from four of the incidents. The footage showed a man approaching each vehicle and scraping it with a key. In three of the videos, he was walking a dog. In some of the videos, it appeared the man was writing something on the cars.

Christine Vander Hook, the owner of one of the vandalized Teslas, said she and her husband thought some of the scribbling looked like a failed attempt at a swastika.

In a speech in Washington, D.C., in January, Musk made a straight-arm gesture that his critics viewed as a Nazi salute.

Vander Hook said she bought her car before Musk assumed his advisory role and had a sticker on her car indicating her family did not support the Trump administration.

The six Teslas were vandalized on different dates in the second half of March, and all but one were located downtown.

Investigators were aided by Teslas’ high-quality cameras, which recorded some of the incidents.

Minnesota Star Tribune staff writer Louis Krauss and the Associated Press contributed to this report.