Paul Kim, 36, faces a series of charges, including arson, destruction of property and possession of an explosive device, stemming from the March 18 attack.
A Las Vegas cinematographer who allegedly threw Molotov cocktails and opened fire on Teslas earlier this month will face state and federal charges following his arrest, authorities said Thursday.
Paul Kim, 36, was arrested Wednesday and charged with multiple state felonies, including three counts of arson, three counts of possession of an explosive device, five counts of shooting into a car and four counts of destroying personal property, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.
Detectives were able to spot Kim fleeing in a black Hyundai Elantra, and that helped them eventually identify and arrest him, Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said.
“This case has been worked around the clock,” Koren told reporters on Thursday. “Sheriff [Kevin] McMahill and FBI Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans have made it a top priority for our organization and put a tremendous amount of workforce behind it.”
Cameras across Las Vegas, drones and license plate readers also played key roles in this case, McMahill said.
“The technology is actually what helped solve this in particular,” McMahill said.
Kim has also been charged with federal counts of possession of a unregistered firearm and arson.
“For individuals who are contemplating similar attacks, there’s nothing courageous or noble about fire bombing private property and terrorizing your local community,” said Evans, who runs the FBI's Las Vegas field office.
“The self-righteous mob cheering you on today, to commit acts of violence on their behalf, will leave you high and dry and forget about you tomorrow," he said. "And at the end of the day, you and you alone, will be held responsible and face the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence.”
A person, dressed all in black, attacked the Tesla Collision Center, at 6260 Badura Ave., at 2:45 a.m. on March 18 in what’s been a pattern of violent incidents against property associated with Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO and adviser to President Donald Trump.
One of the Molotov cocktails did not ignite. A police lab described it as "Pentene and Ethanol, in a glass bottle," according a criminal complaint written by FBI Special Agent Steven Baxter.
Five Teslas were damaged by fire or gun fire and the word "Resist" was painted on the front of building, according to the federal complaint.
Kim said he was drinking with a friend between midnight and 8 a.m. when the Teslas were being torched, according to the federal complaint.
But investigators said they can place Kim's car "in the area of 6260 Badura Ave." between 2:36 a.m. and 2:48 a.m. as the crime was unfolding, Baxter wrote.
Law enforcement searched Kim's apartment late Wednesday and early Thursday and found "numerous items of interest, to include multiple rifles, a shotgun, a handgun and miscellaneous gun parts,” Doren said Thursday.
It wasn’t immediately clear Thursday if Kim had hired or been assigned a criminal defense lawyer to speak on his behalf.
Loved ones had been trying to reach Kim because they hadn’t heard from him in a few days, a brother of the suspect said. When reached by NBC News and told of his arrest, the brother went silent.
“I’m sorry, I’m not comfortable speaking right now. This is all big news to me,” said his brother, 31-year-old Andrew Kim.
