Thanks to the surveillance video from a parked Tesla, a burglar could be sentenced to prison for a theft tour in Haparanda.
The car’s camera filmed the thief as he came out of the garage with stolen goods.
– I have never been involved in this before, says prosecutor Otto Meppelberg.
It was one night at the end of October that several addresses in Haparanda were greeted by the 28-year-old. In one case, the suspect was found in the kitchen of a family, and at another address, a quantity of goods was stolen from a garage. The garage owner discovered the following morning that someone had broken in and that his car caught the thief on film. The owner’s Tesla was parked in front of the garage, a white electric car that films movements around the car.
– Even though it is dark, you can clearly see that the thief is standing and loading stolen goods into a wheelbarrow next to the car, says the car owner, who is satisfied that the car’s film was able to catch the thief.
“The film was decisive”
The car model has a function that automatically films movements around it and in this case the films became important evidence against the burglar. Stolen tools, clothes and food from the freezer were loaded by the thief into the wheelbarrow. The prosecutor in the case believes that the video from the car was important in the evidence to get the burglar caught.
– The film was decisive and an important link in the evidence, says prosecutor Otto Meppelberg, who has never before seen a car film convict someone of burglary.
Whether the owner of the Tesla can in turn risk something for unauthorized camera surveillance is unclear, according to the prosecutor. This is because the Tesla was parked on the lot. It is clear, however, that free evidence prevails in Swedish courts and the film’s probative value was great.
Haparanda district court recently sentenced the 28-year-old to two years in prison.