Man charged with vandalizing 17 Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO – A man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly vandalized more than a dozen Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco last month, prosecutors said.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins' office announced that 36-year-old Ronaile Joshua Burton of Castro Valley was charged with 17 counts of vandalism with more than $400 in damage. The charges stem from incidents that took place in the city's Tenderloin between June 24 and 26.
"The destruction of other people's property will not go unaddressed in San Francisco. People who vandalize property must be held accountable for their actions," Jenkins said in a statement.
Prosecutors allege that Burton approached and vandalized the company's vehicles on 17 different occasions, with each incident being captured on cameras in the vehicles. Burton is also accused in another case where he allegedly approached a three-car caravan of Waymo vehicles and slashed tires.
In an update Thursday afternoon, San Francisco Police said they were able to locate the suspect after determining that the suspect and suspect vehicle were the same in all of the cases. The suspect vehicle was a rental car that was past due.
On June 26, police located the vehicle on the 300 block of Bryant Street in the city's South of Market and the suspect, later identified as Burton. Police said Burton then slashed the tires of the rental car and vandalized five vehicles along the Embarcadero before being arrested.
The incidents come as Waymo expanded its robotaxi service to all people in San Francisco who downloaded their app. Previously the service was only available to those on a waiting list, which had grown to 300,000 people.
Autonomous vehicles have been the targets of vandalism before. In February, a Waymo robotaxi was set on fire in the city's Chinatown. A 14-year-old was arrested in the case.
Burton was arraigned Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to the DA's office. He remains in jail ahead of a custody status hearing on Friday.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for July 23.
Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to contact the SFPD Tip Line at 415-575-4444 or by texting TIP411, beginning the message with SFPD.