A Minnesota Department of Human Services employee appears to have been arrested on suspicion of causing over $20,000 in damage to several Tesla vehicles in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara held a press conference on Thursday along with MPD investigator Sgt. Rob Illetschko to announce the arrest and pending charges.
Four video clips were shown during the press conference that had been obtained from the victims’ onboard surveillance cameras. The videos showed a white male who in most of the cases had a dog with him while appearing to key or vandalize Teslas in downtown Minneapolis, and one at Target in Northeast Minneapolis. Chief O’Hara said all the videos shown were believed to be the same suspect.
Police did not name the arrested party, but jail records show Dylan Bryan Adams, 33, was booked into custody Wednesday morning on a probable cause charge of damage to property, Crime Watch Minneapolis first reported. The images of the suspect in the videos appear to match the booking photo of Adams.
Adams was released from custody just over 24 hours later, pending formal charges. Available public records indicate that Adams is a State of Minnesota employee working as a fiscal policy analyst for the Department of Human Services.
The New York Post claims in an article about the arrest that a spokesperson for Gov. Tim Walz’s office told them that Adams is not a “political appointee” in Walz’s administration but is one of more than 40,000 state employees. No other comments about the arrest from Walz’s office or DHS were indicated in the article.
Crime Watch Minneapolis posted on March 29 that a white male with a dog had been observed in downtown Minneapolis damaging Tesla vehicles. Dispatch audio from the time of the incident indicated that the man had been under surveillance by police at the time, and that other officers stopped him on that date for identification. There’s no indication that an arrest was made at that time.
Chief O’Hara said during the press conference that the incidents took place in the last half of March, beginning on March 18, which would have been the same day Gov. Tim Walz made controversial comments about Tesla at an event in Wisconsin. Walz made disparaging comments about Tesla owner Elon Musk during the event and appeared to rejoice in Tesla’s stock price taking a plunge. Walz even posted the clip of the comments on his personal X/Twitter page, where it still remains.
Tim Walz roots for Tesla to fail: pic.twitter.com/qA7b8wzR26
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) March 19, 2025
“This is pretty stupid,” Chief O’Hara said, “committing a crime with a spotlight on you,” referring to the high-quality surveillance video technology incorporated into Tesla vehicles. The damage to the six vehicles amounted to about $21,000, and each of the six incidents amounted to felony damage to property, O’Hara said.
At least one of the video clips shown by police indicated that damage took place on Monday, March 24, just after 2 p.m., which raises questions about whether Adams is on work-from-home status with the state and if the vandalism took place while Adams was on the taxpayer clock at the time.
Chief O’Hara stated that the case has been forwarded to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for possible charges.
The chief urged any other Tesla owners who’ve sustained damage to come forward, as police believe there may be more unreported cases. The chief also indicated that other Tesla damage incidents are being investigated in south Minneapolis but are believed to be unrelated to the arrested party.
“We are reviewing the matter at this time. State employees are expected to follow our code of conduct and hold themselves to the highest ethical standards through their words and actions,” the Department of Human Services told Alpha News.
Alpha News will continue to follow developments and any possible charges in the case.
This article was updated with a comment from the Department of Human Services.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
