Upstate man charged with damaging Teslas in Westbury dealership showroom

A man struck two new Teslas with an ice scraper at a Westbury dealership Sunday, causing $3,800 worth of damage, police said. He did so, they alleged, because showroom staff, who did not know him, failed to return his computer hard drive filled with crypto currency he said they had in their possession.

Travis Dubshinski, 38, of upstate Jefferson, New York, walked into the Tesla Motors showroom on Corporate Drive around 10:15 a.m. asking for his hard drive and money, authorities said.

Puzzled staff told police that they had never seen him before. Dubshinski became angry when he did not get what he wanted, went to his car and retrieved an ice scraper from his white 2022 Mazda.

After striking two electric vehicles on the lot, he fled the site in his car, authorities said.

Police caught up with him at Corporate Drive and Merrick Avenue and charged him with second-degree criminal mischief and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Dubshinski pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday in Nassau District Court and was released on unspecified non-monetary conditions, according to court records.

He was represented in court by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, according to the court records, which did not include the name of his attorney.

Dubshinski is scheduled to return to court next Monday, the court records show.