Parkville teen enters not guilty plea in burning of Kansas City Tesla trucks
The suspect in an alleged arson fire set at a Kansas City Tesla dealership pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday.
Parkville native Owen McIntire, 19, is accused of allegedly making an incendiary device known as a Molotov cocktail and using it to start a fire at the Tesla dealership on State Line Road on March 17. Two Cybertrucks were damaged in the fire, valued at $105,485 and $107,485, according to court documents.
The fire also damaged two charging stations worth about $550 each.
McIntire faces charges of malicious damage to property and possession of an unregistered destructive device and could be imprisoned for up to 20 years.
McIntire was arrested in Massachusetts, where he attends college. He first appeared in federal court on April 18. McIntire was released to his parents’ home and has been under electronic monitoring, among other restrictive release conditions, according to court records.
On the night of the incident, a Kansas City police officer noticed smoke rising from the Tesla lot while passing by around 11:16 p.m., according to court documents.
The officer saw a grey Cybertruck on fire, with an unbroken Molotov cocktail in an apple cider vinegar bottle lying nearby. A burnt rag was found on the pavement next to the homemade explosive, court documents read.
The officer tried to extinguish the burning car, but the fire spread to a second Cybertruck, prompting a visit from the Kansas City Fire Department, according to court documents. Surveillance footage and DNA evidence contributed to McIntire’s arrest, as well as phone and digital records and the discovery of his hat in a Leawood backyard, court documents read.
The Star’s Ilana Arougheti and Kendrick Calfee contributed reporting.
