A progressive district attorney has declined to charge a Tim Walz state employee allegedly caught causing $20,000 damage by vandalizing half a dozen Teslas — a decision ripped by the “frustrated” local police chief.
The suspected vandal, 33-year-old Minnesota government employee Dylan Bryan Adams, was allegedly spotted keying the vehicles and stripping their paint off while out walking his dog around the city.
Despite what police believe to be evidence of Adams committing felonies, Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty will seek diversion rather than criminal charges.
“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,” the attorney’s office said in a statement, CBS News reported.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at the time of the incident that the damage in each case was the equivalent of a felony.
The chief said in a scathing statement on Monday that Moriarty’s decision not to bring charges is frustrating for his officers and the public.
“The Minneapolis Police Department did its job. 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,” he told KARE in a statement.
“This case impacted at least six different 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,” O’Hara said in a statement.
Moriarty has been Hennepin County’s top prosecutor since January 2023, but quickly came under fire for her woke policies that allowed accused rapists and killers to stay free.
During her very first week in office, she dropped the charges against a 35-year-old man accused of raping a teen girl due to attorney misconduct, CBS News reported at the time.
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