Tesla’s Sentry Mode has proved to be increasingly useful, as many stories have been popping up of the videos being used to identify the perpetrators of crimes by recording them. The latest of those stories involves a Tesla Model 3 in the UK, which caught a woman purposefully leaving a 4-inch scratch down the side of the car’s door with her key.
The woman, 57-year-old Anna Valente, made it appear to onlookers as if she was just getting something from her car, but the onboard camera in the Tesla‘s front fender captured her sneakily dragging her key behind her back across the Model 3’s door.
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The damage wasn’t spotted until the owner’s wife drove it home from the store. He noticed the scratch, and decided to check the car’s hard drive to see if it caught anything. And catch something it did, as in addition to the actual keying, different camera angles in the video also showed Valente walking over to the Model 3, which revealed her face, as well as footage of her Nissan Juke, which allowed the police to track her down from the registration plate according to the Bournemouth Daily Echo.
And the reason for this act? It was supposedly because the Tesla was parked too close to her car. And to make matters worse, the only reason the Model 3 was so close in the first place was because she reportedly parked over the white line on purpose to deter people from pulling in next to her while her dog was in the passenger seat.
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As a result of all this, Valente was ordered to pay the Model 3‘s owner £1,078.83 ($1,447.79 / €1,277.29) to cover the damages. This, according to the Daily Mail, also marks what is believed to be the first time recorded footage from a Tesla was used as evidence in a criminal prosecution in the UK, making this case a precedent.
A spokesperson for the Dorset Police said: “The vehicle involved had on-board CCTV, which provided clear and exceptional quality images capturing the defendant causing damage. The defendant was identified from the footage and subsequently was brought before the court to face the consequences for her actions.”