An elderly couple locked their luxury vehicle in broad daylight because of road rage, a court was told.
Raymond Edwards, 70, and his wife Barbara Edwards, 70, each pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday to willful damage.
The pair were charged after they were caught on camera locking a luxury car at Brisbane’s Brookside Shopping Center north of Brisbane in Mitchelton in October last year.
Footage from the faulty Tesla’s on-board camera, first obtained by 7News, shows the pair going through a parked car before locking the electric car with the intention of causing damage.
The court was told Mr Edwards had also entered a white BMW parked next to the Tesla.
An elderly husband and wife who locked their car in a north side shopping center have hit out at the media as they face court. 7NEWS Australia
Police prosecutor Sergeant Josh Kelly said officers had received quotes for damage to each vehicle, totaling $2443.61 (about $1,609 USD) for the BMW and $1794.51 ($1,181 USD) for the Tesla.
Sergeant Kelly asked the couple to pay the cost of the repairs despite the possibility that the car owner had insurance.
Raymond and Barbara Edwards were caught on Tesla camera vandalizing the vehicle. 7NEWS Australia
“It happened for whatever reason, there was some kind of disagreement with road users and the defendants took matters into their own hands and broke the law arbitrarily,” he said.
“In these circumstances, restitution should be ordered for that amount regardless of whether or not the person has insurance.
“Society at large suffers if we rely on insurance to cover expenses.”
The couple apparently had a disagreement with the owner of the car. 7NEWS Australia
Representing both Edwards in court, defense lawyer Bruce Peters said his client had apologized for the damage they had caused.
He explained their outburst was a direct result of an earlier incident where a white Tesla and a white BMW allegedly “cut them off the road and almost forced them into a power pole” about 800m from Brookside Shopping Centre.
“When they regained their composure, they proceeded to Brookside Shopping Center and lo and behold, the two cars they thought were the cars that had cut them off – a white BMW and a white Tesla – were parked next to each other,” Mr Peters said.
A Tesla and a white BMW allegedly cut off the pair earlier in the day. 7NEWS Australia
“They take their frustrations out on cars.”
The pair were each given a $500 ($330 USD) good behavior bond for 12 months.
Mr. Edwards was ordered to pay $2443.61 ($1,608 USD) in damages for damages caused by Tesla and BMW, while Mrs. Edwards was ordered to pay the remaining $897.25 ($590 USD) for Tesla’s repair work.
No convictions recorded.
As they left court, the pair were shielded by family and friends with umbrellas in an attempt to avoid being photographed after they claimed they had been harassed on social media following a video of the car being damaged.
In court, Mr Peters said a rock had allegedly been thrown at his client’s home and they had been “defamed” online since the video went viral.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
