Two McLarens Vandalized In Monterey, 30-Year-Old Suspect Arrested

Carmel PD credits teamwork, cameras, and witnesses after arresting a man for vandalizing two McLarens at Car Week

If there’s one thing that could keep supercar owners awake at night during Monterey Car Week, it would be the threat of vandalism. That’s what two McLaren owners woke up to early on Saturday morning last week. Now, police say they’ve already found the person responsible for smashing the cars’ windshields.

Authorities say that just after midnight on Friday, they heard about some vandalized cars. Upon arriving at the scene, they found two McLarens with utterly ruined windshields. One of the owners, Steve Rohrer, says officers woke him up around 1 a.m. to inform him about the crime.

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“I went downstairs from my suite and opened the back door, and sure enough, there were three police officers, a lot of lights everywhere, and the front end of my windshield was smashed,” Rohrer told KSBW. He explained that the cleanup was painstaking, with shards still scattered throughout the interior. “My main concern is the collateral damage that could have occurred to the dash and the paint, which could be extremely expensive,” he added.

On Tuesday morning, Carmel Police arrested 30-year-old Samuel Shaffer of Pacific Grove in connection with the vandalism. Acting Chief Trayer credited the department’s FLOCK camera system, tips from witnesses, and cooperation with Pacific Grove and Monterey police for helping track down the suspect. “Everyone is asking ‘why,’ and I don’t know the reason why this happened,” said Trayer, noting that Shaffer’s prior contact with law enforcement was minimal.

What will happen to Shaffer? “I hope the gentleman that did it… this will wake him up and help him to realize he’s got to be responsible for his behavior,” says Rohrer. Wake-up call or not, it seems he’ll have a permanent record of the incident that goes with him everywhere now. As for Car Week itself, it appears as though police feel like they have a good handle on it. In the same post announcing the arrest of Shaffer, officers boasted about the week overall.

“We made seven arrests related to vandalism, reckless driving (3), DUI, and possession of an illegal firearm. All of this while directing over 65,000 vehicles through our town each day and answering 911 calls,” it said.