Carmel PD nabs suspect in late-night McLaren vandalism during Car Week

By Zoe Hunt

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    CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. (KSBW) — Carmel police said they have arrested a man wanted for the vandalism of two luxury cars that occurred around midnight on Friday.

Carmel police arrested Samuel P. Shaffer, 30, of Pacific Grove on Tuesday morning for vandalizing two McLarens.

“Everyone is asking ‘why,’ and I don’t know the reason why this happened, but I can tell you that his contact with the police department has been pretty minimal,” said

The McLarens each have a different owner who was in Carmel for Car Week. The vehicles were parked near each other by the Pine Inn.

Just after midnight on Friday, two McLarens in Carmel for Car Week near the Pine Inn, left with shattered windshields

One of the owners, Steve Rohrer, said he woke up at 1 a.m. to a call that his car had been vandalized.

“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,” said Rohrer.

Rohrer said after he towed the car home, he spent hours trying to carefully sweep broken glass off the paint. The inside of his car is still littered with shards.

“My main concern is the collateral damage that could have occurred to the dash and the paint, which could be extremely expensive,” said Rohrer. “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.”

Carmel police said catching Shaffer was all thanks to the help of witnesses and neighbors, as well as their Flock camera system.

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