LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A mix of know-how, DNA proof and around-the-clock detective work led Las Vegas police and the FBI to the person accused of firebombing autos at a Tesla collision heart final month, in line with paperwork the 8 Information Now Investigators obtained Thursday.
Las Vegas Metro police arrested Paul Kim, 36, on Wednesday, March 26, on costs together with arson and possessing an explosive system, the 8 Information Now Investigators first reported. U.S. Marshals later took Kim into custody on federal costs. On Monday, a federal choose ordered him jailed pending trial.
The fires occurred Tuesday, March 18, round 2:45 a.m. on the Tesla heart positioned at 6260 West Badura Avenue close to Jones Boulevard and Heat Springs Highway.
License plate readers, cameras, social media instruments, DNA and different know-how straight led to Kim, LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill stated throughout a information convention final week.
Kim arrived in a automotive, which he parked close to the collision heart, LVMPD Asst. Sheriff Dori Koren stated final week. Kim then, armed with a rifle, shot at surveillance cameras outdoors of the enterprise. He then spray-painted the phrase “resist” on the entrance doorways.
Kim then shot not less than 5 autos and set fires with Molotov cocktails, Koren stated. Kim then drove off in his automotive, which police later positioned whereas canvassing video from greater than 700 areas throughout the Las Vegas valley.
Investigators swabbed DNA from the rim of an unexploded Molotov cocktail in addition to from a bag hooked up to the bottle, paperwork stated. Kim allegedly constructed a few of his do-it-yourself explosive units utilizing wine bottles and an unknown accelerant.
Along with surveillance video from the collision heart, police obtained video from two Teslas, nonetheless there was “nothing pertinent” discovered on them, paperwork stated.
Officers tracked the automotive from the collision heart to Kim’s residence within the southwest valley, paperwork stated.
Whereas license plate readers aided police in monitoring the automotive, Kim eliminated his precise license plate from the car, police stated. Nevertheless, the automotive’s distinctive tail lights and rims helped within the monitoring.
Flock Security collaborates with Metro police on the license-plate-reading know-how. The corporate’s CEO beforehand defined that each automotive has a fingerprint, and that the know-how creates a search engine for investigators to seek out vehicles.
Detectives positioned earlier movies of a automotive, which on the time of these recordings, had a license plate registered to Kim, paperwork stated.
Police additionally obtained warrants for data inside Kim’s car in addition to from his telephone, which confirmed the automotive within the space of the collision heart on the time of the fires, paperwork stated.
Kim reported his car lacking to his insurance coverage firm within the hours after the fires, the 8 Information Now Investigators first reported. Police later positioned the automotive at a special collision heart the place staff stated Kim advised them his automotive was stolen and broken, paperwork stated.
In federal court docket, Kim’s attorneys have described his alleged actions as inflicting “property damage.”
Kim didn’t seem in court docket Tuesday on his state costs. A listening to was scheduled for later this month to find out a trial date.
Author : LasVegasNews
Publish date : 2025-04-03 16:12:00
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