WHAT A HEEL: Attorney Keys Cars To Punish Drivers Straddling Parking Line
Attorney Ronald Clarke Mattson, who practices family law at Wechsler Beckler, LLP, has been charged with second-degree malicious mischief for scratching three cars with his keys and leaving snarky notes berating their owners for being lousy parkers. Mattson, 63, was caught in the act by Columbia Center security staff during a sting operation after two vehicles were "keyed" March 9 and 11, The Seattle Times reports:
When one of the victims contacted building security, Pat Farrell, security project manager for Columbia Center, hatched a plan aimed at catching the culprit.
On the morning of March 15, Farrell parked a "bait" car in the garage so the vehicle straddled the lines of two spaces. He also had a surveillance camera pointed toward the bait car. Farrell then climbed inside another car parked nearby and waited, charging paperwork said.
Shortly after 9 a.m., Farrell saw a silver Porsche drive past the bait car and back up before driving away. The man inside the sports car, identified as Mattson, walked up to the bait car. …
Farrell called police, who gathered the surveillance videos that showed Mattson keying the bait car, as well as images of the lawyer parking his Porsche near the other two vehicles that were damaged.
Mattson, who caused more than $6,000 damage to the three cars, has paid restitution to the victims.
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