Man charged after Tesla camera records car being keyed in Pineville parking lot

PINEVILLE, N.C. (WBTV) - A man has been charged after a Tesla camera recorded video footage of the car being keyed last month at a shopping center parking lot in Pineville.

The owner of the 2022 Tesla Model Y, who asked that he only be identified by his first name, Rahul, said he discovered his vehicle had been keyed after it had been parked in the shopping center parking lot.

Surveillance footage recorded by one of the Tesla’s cameras appears to show a person walking past the vehicle and keying it two separate times.

“I was very shaken honestly and I was in disbelief,” Rahul said.

The Tesla owner said he recognized the person in the surveillance footage.

“I thought about it a lot, but I could not find a single reason he would do this to me,” said Rahul.

He said that replacing his car’s orange wrap and fixing the body damage will cost thousands of dollars.

Officer Randy Down with the Pineville Police Department investigated the incident. He said it can be very hard to hold someone responsible for keying a car if there is no video showing the incident.

“Unfortunately, it’s very difficult and unless you have a witness or in this case, unless you have surveillance, it’s challenging,” said Down.

After reviewing the surveillance footage from Rahul’s Tesla, police were able to charge a man for keying the car.

The suspect, Hanish Garg, was charged in Mecklenburg County. Rahul said Garg is a former neighbor.

Down explained that the Tesla’s surveillance footage was a big reason why an arrest was made.

“This is the one that did him in and this is the reason why he got arrested,” said the officer as he gestured toward one of the car cameras.

Surveillance cameras have become more and more commonplace in the United States.

Charlotte-based CPI Security has worked for years to provide security systems for homes and businesses.

Ken Gill, the company’s founder and CEO, said last year CPI included cameras in 95% of the security systems it installed. CPI currently has more than 350,000 cameras in businesses and homes.

“It’s getting bigger and it’s going to continue to grow and video is just kind of a part of everything we do today,” explained Gill.

Rahul said he is hoping his video evidence can help get him compensated for the Tesla damage and teach others a valuable lesson.

“As car owners, we need to be careful and for people who commit such acts, they should probably think twice about whether it’s the best decision they could make,” said Rahul.

WBTV reached out to Garg for comment on this story. He said he needed to talk to an attorney before making any sort of statement.

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