Inset: Michael Dietz. Background: Vandalized home in Westlake, Ohio (Westlake police).
Michael Dietz openly admitted to his alleged role in the vandalism at the residence of a woman he had a car accident with more than a year ago when questioned by Ohio police.
“I f—ing spray painted a—hole on her house,” Dietz told Westlake cops, according to body camera video viewed by Law&Crime.
“Why?” asked the cop.
“Because she’s an a—hole,” he retorted.
From Law&Crime: ‘Wrong damn car’: Upset teenager spray paints ex-boyfriend’s Infiniti only to discover it was the wrong car, according to authorities
While in the patrol car on the way to jail, Dietz went further.
“That b— is lucky I didn’t go over with a .357 and start shooting the place up,” he proclaimed.
Now Dietz, 64, is facing charges of vandalism and aggravated menacing.
Law enforcement authorities in Westlake, a suburb of Cleveland, went to the woman’s home on Thursday morning following her discovery of the damage done to her property and car. Surveillance footage from a Ring camera revealed a man arriving around 5 a.m. attempting to pour sugar into an SUV parked in her driveway, as outlined in a criminal complaint. The individual then went on to spray paint the word “a—hole” multiple times, with misspellings, according to the police.
While tagging the home, Dietz apparently saw the camera and spray painted over it, a video showed. Not even the University of Alabama flag in the front yard was spared.
When asked who may want to vandalize the property, the woman and her husband suggested Dietz. She and the suspect had been involved in a car accident in August 2023.
After Dietz allegedly admitted to being the perpetrator, he told cops he was “not happy” with how the crash was handled and he intended to sue the victim. He said he was still suffering from back pain.
Officers noticed a black backpack the suspect used at the scene as they were interviewing Dietz at his house.
“Upon inspection, the bag contained clear plastic gloves, a reusable Giant Eagle grocery bag, sugar residue, and a blue funnel. These items are consistent with the tools and evidence left at the scene,” cops wrote.
Westlake cops were incredulous that a man of Dietz’s age would allegedly commit such an act.
“You would expect maybe a kid or a young young adult would do something like this. Not thinking things through fully. But this was a 64-year-old man who should definitely know better,” Capt. Gerry Vogel told local CBS affiliate WOIO.
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