DENVER (KDVR) — Police in Colorado have arrested a suspect accused of planting incendiary devices at a Tesla dealership in Loveland.
Lucy Grace Nelson, 40, was arrested on Monday just before midnight and booked into the Larimer County Jail on several felony charges, according to Loveland police.
The Loveland Police Department said an investigation into the case began in late January. In early February, the department revealed that officers had also responded to a reported arson attempt, after which the “incendiary devices” were found at the scene. Vehicles had also been vandalized with graffiti, “some of which were offensive and hateful in nature,” police said.
“I know that there’s been some rumors that it was just fireworks and bottle rockets and that is not the case. That is not true,” Chris Padgett, a spokesperson for the Loveland Police Department, told Nexstar’s KDVR. “The devices that were discovered had potential for serious damage.”
Officers also said that the Loveland Police Department received multiple similar reports of criminal activity targeting the Tesla dealership.
Nelson was ultimately apprehended Monday upon returning to the Tesla dealership, allegedly in possession of additional incendiary devices and “materials attributed to vandalism,” police said in an update this week.
Nelson has since been charged with the following felony offenses: explosives or incendiary devices used during a felony; criminal mischief targeting a business; and criminal attempt to commit a class 3 felony.
“We have to think bigger than just property damage and a business,” Padgett said of the serious nature of the charges. “We have to think about employees, we have to think about residents who live in the area.”
Nelson is scheduled in court on March 7 at 8:30 a.m.
Anyone who has additional information on the incident is asked to call the Loveland Police Department’s tip line at 970-962-2032 or the Larimer County Crime Stoppers at 970-221-6868.
KDVR’s Rachel Saurer contributed to this report.
