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Westlake man tracks down woman from car crash, pours sugar in her gas tank, police say [vandalized her home, too]
Cleveland19 ^ | 04/11/2025 | Madeline Harden and Katharine Huntley

Posted on 04/13/2025 7:36:15 PM PDT by simpson96

WESTLAKE, Ohio (WOIO) - Westlake Police arrested a 64-year-old man Thursday after he allegedly vandalized a woman’s home with spray paint and poured sugar in her gas tank.

According to Westlake Police, at around 7 a.m., officers responded to a call from a homeowner reporting that someone had vandalized her property.

When officers arrived, they found the front of the home heavily spray-painted, including the windows and the ring doorbell camera with black spray paint.

Police said they believe the suspect attempted to pour sugar into her car’s gas tank as well.

“He wrote a lot of words, many of them misspelled on the house itself, plus took time to to spray paint the windows. If you watch the surveillance video, he even notices the cameras that are there and spray paints the cameras,” says Capt. Gerry Vogel of the Westlake Police Department.

After reviewing surveillance camera footage, police said the woman noted that the suspect looked familiar.

According to Westlake Police, the victim and the suspect were involved in a traffic crash in August 2023.

When officers followed up with 64-year-old Michael Dietz, who also lived in Westlake, police said he matched the person caught on camera and admitted that he caused the damage.

Here’s how that interaction went:

Officer: What did you do over there at her house?

Dietz: I {expletive} sprayed {expletive} on her house.

Officer: Why?

Dietz: Because she’s an {expletive}.

Officer: What else did you do?

Dietz: I tried putting sugar in the car.

Dietz was arrested and spent the night in the Westlake jail before going in front of a judge Friday, facing felony vandalism and misdemeanor aggravated menacing charges.

The aggravated menacing charge was tacked on when he made a chilling comment to officers in their cruiser after being arrested.

Dietz: Lucky I didn’t go over with a .357 and start shooting the place up.

Officer: You don’t say stuff like that.

Dietz: I know, but I didn’t do that. I just spray painted the outside.

Police say after more than a year and a half, Deitz tracked down the woman who was at fault in that accident back in 2023.

He made comments to officers about ongoing court actions and medical issues stemming from the accident, something he is still very angry about.

“You would expect maybe a kid or a young young adult would do something like this. Not thinking things through fully. But this was a 64-year-old man who should definitely know better,” says Vogel.

Police said additional charges may be presented to the county grand jury.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: gerryvogel; katharinehuntley; madelineharden; michaeldietz; ohio; westlake
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1 posted on 04/13/2025 7:36:15 PM PDT by simpson96
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To: simpson96
Sugar? Geez. So amateur. Everyone knowns that Karo Syrup works
much better for "engine work".

Kids, don't try this at home!

2 posted on 04/13/2025 7:44:34 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and His mercy endureth forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: simpson96

More Tesla vandalism!!


3 posted on 04/13/2025 7:45:35 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (All we want is the same deportation policy that Martha's Vineyard has. That's it.)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Sugar is caught by the fuel filter. If you want to ruin a gasoline engine I’ve been told you add diesel


4 posted on 04/13/2025 7:46:31 PM PDT by Fai Mao ( All Democrats need to go to prison.)
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To: simpson96
Dietz: Lucky I didn’t go over with a .357 and start shooting the place up.

Officer: You don’t say stuff like that.

WTF? The perp should have been on the ground that instant in a chokehold while getting cuffed. The officer actually said "You don't say stuff like that" like a mom telling her 10 year old to not say bad things?

5 posted on 04/13/2025 7:47:46 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (All we want is the same deportation policy that Martha's Vineyard has. That's it.)
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To: simpson96

When much younger I always thought that pouring a little bit of sugar in a gas tank would do the job. Not so. I knew a person who at the time was a lieutenant in the Mafia. His girlfriend said something he did not like. He had one of his cohorts pour sugar in her gas tank, up to the spout and that sugar was as dry as a bone. It must have taken a 25 pound bag of sugar to do that. Yes, I knew the woman. ;-)


6 posted on 04/13/2025 7:53:13 PM PDT by spel_grammer_an_punct_polise (Learn three chords and you, too, can be a Rock Star!)
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To: simpson96

“You would expect maybe a kid or a young young adult would do something like this. Not thinking things through fully. But this was a 64-year-old man who should definitely know better,” says Vogel.


It’s called, being too old to give a f___, anymore.


7 posted on 04/13/2025 7:56:06 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Fai Mao

Try golf balls in the gas tank😋When the car gets to about 60 it stalls as the fuel pump gets clogged.


8 posted on 04/13/2025 7:56:23 PM PDT by lone star annie ( )
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To: Fai Mao

Try ping pong balls in the gas tank😋When the car gets to about 60 it stalls as the fuel pump gets clogged. No m


9 posted on 04/13/2025 7:57:02 PM PDT by lone star annie ( )
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To: spel_grammer_an_punct_polise

Mrs. Krabapple on The Simpsons was also victimized by en ex.

10 posted on 04/13/2025 7:57:42 PM PDT by simpson96
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To: lone star annie

What ever happened to the good old banana up the tailpipe?


11 posted on 04/13/2025 7:58:41 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; BraveMan; cardinal4; ...
[snip] "He wrote a lot of words, many of them misspelled on the house itself, plus took time to to spray paint the windows. If you watch the surveillance video, he even notices the cameras that are there and spray paints the cameras," says Capt. Gerry Vogel of the Westlake Police Department... According to Westlake Police, the victim and the suspect were involved in a traffic crash in August 2023. [/snip]
Seems like he may have anger problems. :^)

12 posted on 04/13/2025 7:59:52 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: dfwgator

Potato, gotta be a potato. And not mashed. Or tots. Learned that the hard way. Gravy is a nice touch though. Or sour cream and diced chives. Smells nice too.


13 posted on 04/13/2025 8:01:15 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: dfwgator
***What ever happened to the good old banana up the tailpipe?***

That's mayor Pete's trick.

14 posted on 04/13/2025 8:03:03 PM PDT by Right Brother (I don't really care Margaret.)
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To: simpson96

Democrat!

https://voterrecords.com/voters/oh/michael+dietz/1

Michael E Dietz
Age: 64
Residential Address: Westlake Oh 44145
Party Affiliation: Democratic Party
Registered to Vote In: Cuyahoga County, OH
Voter Status: Active


15 posted on 04/13/2025 8:04:15 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: SunkenCiv

As expected


16 posted on 04/13/2025 8:08:13 PM PDT by iamgalt
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To: dfwgator

Look man, we ain’t falling for no banana in the tailpipe.


17 posted on 04/13/2025 8:08:43 PM PDT by LukeL
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

yeah, sugar doesn’t dissolve well in gasoline ...


18 posted on 04/13/2025 8:33:49 PM PDT by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: lone star annie

Rice works too.


19 posted on 04/13/2025 8:35:48 PM PDT by Fai Mao ( All Democrats need to go to prison.)
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To: Fai Mao

“If you want to ruin a gasoline engine I’ve been told you add diesel”

that’ll definitely do it ... when i worked construction summers and holidays while i attended college, our outfit maintained a 300 gallon tank of road-tax-free diesel on stilts to fill the construction equipment ... one night, some yahoos broke the tank lock, and thinking they had hit the gasoline jackpot during the carter gasoline crisis, they pumped their car full of diesel ... the car was found abandoned a couple of blocks away ... we laughed our asses off for a few days after that ... i STILL laugh about it!


20 posted on 04/13/2025 8:41:21 PM PDT by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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