New details of UMass student arrest after alleged link to Kansas City Cybertruck arson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A college student from the Kansas City area awaits his return home to face federal charges after two Cybertrucks at a Kansas City Tesla Center were damaged by fire last month.

Federal agents were escorted onto the University of Massachusetts-Boston campus by university police early Friday morning. That is when CBS Boston reports agents arrested Owen McIntire. The 19-year-old from Parkville, Mo. attends college at UMass.

McIntire made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts to face federal charges Friday. His next court hearing is not yet scheduled according to online court records.

UMass said that it will not comment on McIntire’s arrest at this time but will provide resources for students who are alarmed or have questions, according to CBS Boston.

McIntire is charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and one count of malicious damage by fire of any property used in interstate commerce according to the criminal complaint that was unsealed after McIntire’s arrest.

An affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint said Kansas City, Missouri Police Department officers reported smoke coming from a grey Cybertruck in the KC Tesla Center just after 11:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 17.

KCPD also saw a Molotov cocktail near the burning Cybertruck. The fire from that vehicle spread to another Cybertruck in the parking lot.

The FBI said McIntire committed the crime while home from college on spring break. According to the criminal complaint, investigators used traffic cameras, GPS, cell phone records, history from McIntire’s campus badge access, and surveillance video from cameras at KCI Airport to prove he was in Kansas City at the time of the crime.

The Cybertrucks had sale prices of between $105,000 and $107,500. Two charging stations were also damaged by the fire, each valued at approximately $550.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement if McIntire is convicted of the crimes he faces decades in prison. Blache went on to say federal prosecutors “will not make deals and will not negotiate.”

This is the second person charged with targeting Tesla this week, according to the Justice Department.

Jamison R. Wagner, 40, is charged with federal arson-related crimes. Investigators accuse Wagner of burning two Tesla Model Y vehicles at a Tesla dealership in New Mexico.

The Justice Department charged Wagner on April 14.

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