A North Wales man is facing charges after he allegedly vandalized a random woman’s car by placing bananas in her vehicle’s exhaust pipe.
John Michel, 69, has been charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief, criminal trespassing, and disorderly conduct, in connection with the investigation. He is currently free on $10,000 unsecured bail.
North Wales Borough Police were contacted on Aug. 1 regarding vandalism to a vehicle. The victim stated she had been having difficulty with her vehicle and the check engine light came on July 26, prompting her to park her vehicle in her driveway. Several days later, the victim was informed by a co-worker that Michel had allegedly placed five bananas into her vehicle’s exhaust pipe as well as burned the stems to all four of her tires.
While taking the report from the victim, police confirmed they observed bananas inside of the tailpipe as well as damage to the tire stems, according to charging documents.
Police then spoke to the co-worker, who said Michel had randomly entered their salon on July 28 stating he was their new landlord and the victim had been fired, the report states. North Penn Now has confirmed neither of those statements were true.
Michel also allegedly told the coworker he had shoved the bananas up the exhaust pipe and burned the tire stems, according to police, adding that audio from surveillance footage of the encounter included the confession.
As a result of the investigation, Michel was officially charged on Aug. 1. He was taken into custody four days later and arraigned by District Judge Marc Alfarano, who set bail at $10,000 unsecured.
His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. in front of District Judge Suzan Leonard.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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