Man accused of breaking into Hobe Sound restaurant looking for outlet to charge his Tesla

By CNN Newsource

Published May 30, 2025 10:22 AM

By Ari Hait

HOBE SOUND, Fla. (WPBF) — Deputies on the Treasure Coast are investigating a bizarre crime: the attempted theft of electricity.

“This falls in the category of ‘You can’t make this stuff up,’” said Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek.

Security video from a Hobe Sound restaurant, Harry and the Natives, shows a man in the restaurant dining room, unplugging a refrigerator and moving chairs and tables.

Budensiek said it happened around 4:30 a.m. Monday, when the restaurant was closed.

He said the man was making room because he wanted to pull his Tesla into the dining room so he could plug it in to charge.

Restaurant owner Harry MacArthur arrived at the restaurant a few hours later to find it in disarray.

“I show up and see all this stuff, and I’m going, ‘What’s going on?’” he said.

MacArthur checked the security video and saw the man moving around the chairs and tables.

Then he checked the cameras in the parking lot, and this became even weirder.

MacArthur said the video showed the man parked in front of the restaurant for hours, at one point rolling around on the ground.

The man eventually tried to back his Tesla into the restaurant dining room but couldn’t fit all the way and drove away.

Deputies have not yet arrested the suspect, but Budensiek said it took all of five minutes to identify him.

“Well, it wasn’t that difficult,” Budensiek said. “He left his charger there, and the charger is generally attached to the car, serialized to the car. Harry’s got videos of the whole restaurant.”

MacArthur said the Tesla did some minor damage to the front of the restaurant, and he lost some supplies because of the unplugged refrigerator.

But he still wasn’t nearly as upset about this as others were.

“Everybody pushed back, all my customers,” MacArthur said. “You know, this is their place. This is their dining room. This is their living room.”

“This is not harmless,” Budensiek said. “Imagine it being your house. Somebody pulling up to your house, pulling their car halfway into your house, trying to steal your electricity. It’s not harmless.”

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