By Ilana Arougheti
The Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man charged in federal court with setting a fire at a Tesla dealership in Kansas City earlier this year was released from federal custody ahead of his Thursday hearing.
Owen McIntire, 19, of Parkville, allegedly made an incendiary device known as a Molotov cocktail and attempted to use it to set a fire at the Kansas City Tesla dealership on State Line Road on March 17.
McIntyre was charged with malicious damage to property and possession of an unregistered destructive device. At a detention hearing on April 24, a federal judge released McIntire into house arrest ahead of his May 1 trial.
A Kansas City police officer noticed smoke rising from the Tesla lot while passing by around 11:16 p.m., according to court documents. Upon investigation, the officer saw a grey Cybertruck on fire, with the 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 damaged Cybertrucks were valued at $105,485 and $107,485, according to court documents. The fire also allegedly damaged two charging stations worth about $550 each.
McIntire, who currently attends college in Boston, was arrested in Massachusetts and first appeared in federal court there on April 18. According to court documents, McIntire was released to his parents’ house and has been under electronic monitoring, among other restrictive release conditions.
The Star’s PJ Green and Kendrick Calfee contributed reporting.
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