A Buckingham Township man and proprietor of a Bucks County personal luxury car service was arraigned and released on unsecured bail Friday on misdemeanor charges of harassment and criminal mischief by damaging property for allegedly scratching a swastika into a Tesla last week.
Black Car Service of Bucks County owner Chadd Michael Ritenbaugh, 55, of the 3700 block of Cold Spring Creamery Road, is also charged with summary violations of harassment and disorderly conduct via obscene language, stemming from the vandalism incident that occurred outside Planet Fitness in Doylestown Borough on March 17, according to charging documents.
The Tesla owner confronted Ritenbaugh, recorded it and posted it on Facebook. In the video, Ritenbaugh states he used a crayon on the car and even offered to wipe it off with a towel. His face becomes one of concern when the owner tells Ritenbaugh the police are fingerprinting the car.
In the video, the owner tells Ritenbaugh he "just bought a Tesla" and called it a hate crime. The owner repeatedly asks Ritenbaugh if he drew a swastika, and Ritenbaugh never admits to it.
Ritenbaugh says in the vide that he "can wipe it off with a towel" and "it was a crayon."
"I'm sorry you're upset," Ritenbaugh says in the video. "It didn't even work. Crayons don't work."
The owner tells Ritenbaugh the camera caught him using a key. He replies it is not a key and asked if there was a mark on the car. When he tells Ritenbaugh the car is with the police, Ritenbaugh questions why.
"What do you mean it's fingerprinted?" Ritenbaugh says.
"They're trying to track you down," says the owner. "Thankfully, Facebook tracked you down. So your business, your freaking livelihood, everything now (gone) ... so to tell Facebook that you're sorry for writing a swastika on a Tesla."
Ritenbaugh then tells the owner he has nothing against his car and nothing against the owner.
"So why would you write a swastika?" asks the owner.
"Obviously, I have something against Elon Musk, but that's not the way to show (it)," Ritenbaugh says. "(It was) misguided and obviously I did not intend to do this."
Investigators tied the defendant to the crime via his gym membership card, which he used after the alleged bigoted maneuver.
Ritenbaugh, who is free on $25,000 unsecured bail, was allegedly caught on the Tesla's always-recording exterior cameras sneaking out of his silver Lexus, crouching down between his car and the white Tesla SUV, etching the Nazi symbol into the car, and then leave for the gym.
Central Bucks Regional Police allege Ritenbaugh was dressed in a gray beanie, sweatpants, a black puffer coat with a light-colored undershirt, and carrying a blue and red bag with white stripes when he vandalized the car at 9:24 a.m.
He then allegedly walked into the Planet Fitness wearing the same clothes and carrying the same bag, scans his card with the front desk staff, and proceeds into the gym, police said, which was all caught on camera.
In addition to his membership card, Ritenbaugh's Pennsylvania driver’s license photo was used to identify him, police said.
A preliminary hearing was moved from April 7 to April 14 at 1:30 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Mark D. Douple.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
