BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - A Buffalo man who claimed his car was vandalized with racist and homophobic messages is now facing charges after law enforcement discovered he did it himself.
Clifton Eutsey, 18, from Buffalo is charged with insurance fraud and falsifying records and could spend up to seven years in prison for his crimes. He plead not guilty to the crimes on Tuesday morning in Buffalo City Court.
A neighbor of Eutsey's on Saranac Avenue in North Buffalo reported that Eutsey's car was vandalized. There were also messages like "Vote for Trump" and even sugar put in the gas tank.
Initially there was support for Eutsey for what happened to his vehicle, though some social media observers questioned if it was actually Eutsey who did this, something he denied to Channel 7.
"After a thorough investigation, it turns out that Mr. Eutsey, the owner of the car, did it himself," Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said. "I don't want to go exactly into what the evidence is but there's some video out there and there's just good old-fashioned investigating. Talking to witnesses. Talking to family. Talking to neighbors. We put 2 and 2 together and he's 4."
Eutsey was released because his crimes were not qualifying offenses under the state's bail reforms. He is due back court on January 11.
Flynn said that Eutsey is also facing separate charges from another incident on October 24. On that day, he allegedly drove without a license and police found two illegal guns in his car. He previously posted $20,000 bail.
