SPOKANE, Wash. —
Friday's trip from Western WA to Spokane is one J.R. Harriston will never forget.
He said while visiting a friend at the Serrano Apartments in north Spokane, a man poured gasoline on his Tesla and lit it on fire.
Harriston was at a loss for words when trying to think about why someone would do this.
"I can't fathom myself wanting to set fire to anything for any political reason, whatever," Harriston said. "I just, I don't get it.”
Harriston said it happened around 12:40 a.m. while he was sleeping. He said he woke up to his car severely damaged.
It wasn't until he reviewed the footage captured by his Tesla in "Sentry Mode" that he learned more of the story. Sentry Mode is a Tesla-feature that records the car's surroundings while parked and locked.
He said that footage is what helped convince first responders this was no accident.
"The lieutenant or sheriff, whoever they have to do a report, take pictures, etc., he was trying to dismiss the thing like, the battery exploding on itself or like it spontaneously combusting," Harriston explained. "And I was like, bro, there's no way that that doesn't happen. I showed him the video and he's like, 'Oh, okay, it's arson, for sure.' And then, you know, they became a lot more helpful."
Harriston said watching the video of the crime was "disheartening."
"I've only had that car for about a year and some change," Harriston said. "But this my dream car, you know, I saved up for that car. Just to watch it back and see the car go up in flames and see what actually happened. It just, like, sucks.”
Harriston said while he can't get his car back, he hopes the suspect will be found and held responsible.
“Hopefully, we can at least find the guy, right?," Harriston said. "Because if there's a guy walking around, just setting stuff on fire, like, Come on, man, he needs to be taken off the street sooner than later. Especially because I have friends in that area. You know, and hopefully, he's not people more than just arson, but we don't know."
Harriston said his friend ended up driving him back home and there's no plan to buy a new car.
"Next steps is just get this claim settled and hopefully get the loan paid off and go from there, but no plans to get a new car," Harriston said.
He said he’s waiting to hear back from his insurance company to confirm they will cover the damage.
“At the end of the day, it's just stuff, right?" Harriston said. "So I'm grateful, my friend, I'm safe. But if we can get that guy off the streets, I think that'd make me sleep a little better.”
Spokane police said officers are investigating the situation as an act of arson.
They ask anyone with any information on the suspect to call crime check.
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