A 59-year-old Fort Lauderdale man is accused of cutting the brake lines on more than a dozen electric rental scooters in the Florida city, police said Tuesday.
Officers said they saw Randall Thomas Williams tampering with the brakes on one scooter and he appeared to be preparing to do the same to others, according to a police affidavit.
He was arrested Sunday and faces a charge of felony criminal mischief.
Twenty scooters with severed brake lines were found in the area, most of which occurred Saturday and Sunday, police said. But more than 140 of the e-scooters have been vandalized in the city since April.
Police say Williams is a suspect in those cases, too. The majority of those cases occurred within a two-block area of William's home and the scooters all were damaged in the same manner, according to the affidavit.
But police said the provable damage involved 20 scooters and totaled $1,400.
Online court records did not list an attorney for Williams Tuesday. and a message left at a phone number that appeared linked to him was not immediately returned late Tuesday.
No injuries have been linked to the cases, but a detective noted in the affidavit that the devices can reach speeds of 17 mph, and “without brakes could cause great bodily injury or death to riders."
Police said the electric scooter vendor removed the scooters in the areas from operation in an effort to keep riders safe.
After Williams was arrested, he "stated he did not want to dig himself into a grave," police said in the affidavit. He posted bail and was released, according to NBC Miami.
Electric scooters, which are dockless and rented through an app, are increasingly popular and have expanded to cities across the country.
In some areas, residents have been critical of the devices, saying that they are parked in ways that create clutter and that riders don't pay attention to pedestrians. Some proponents say that in addition to convenience, they can help reduce road congestion by providing an alternative to cars for short trips.
2019-10-02 05:38:00Z
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-man-accused-cutting-brake-lines-rental-scooters-fort-lauderdale-n1061066
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