‘It’s just my baby’: Halifax mechanic offers $10K reward after unique car vandalized

A Halifax auto shop owner is offering a $10,000 reward for information on the people who vandalized his vehicle.

Evan Chiasson has a hefty bill to pay in damages, after he says his one-of-a-kind car was vandalized in Halifax around 4 a.m. on Tuesday.

“I heard several loud bangs and smashes and thought someone was trying to break into the garage. So, I got up very quickly and put my clothes on and ran downstairs. And I realized that they had smashed all the windows out in my Volkswagen,” says Chiasson.

Chiasson is the owner of Nova Deals and Wheels, and says he spent years working on his car.

“It’s called a Volkswagen Harlequin. It’s a replica. But in the 90s, they made a certain limited number of them. There’s about 264 made in North America,” says Chiasson.

“It’s just my baby.”

Though Chiasson isn’t sure who could have done it, he says he has suspicions about a possible motive.

“I do a lot of vehicle sales here, so maybe someone wasn’t happy with their vehicle that I sold them or, you know, they found something wrong with it. Or it could be relationship related. I’m not 100 per cent sure.”

Chiasson’s home surveillance video shows what appears to be two people in ski masks, allegedly walking onto his driveway and vandalizing the car.

Chiasson says he called 911 as soon as he realized what happened, and says police showed up about 30 minutes later.

“There’s a police report out, but unfortunately, they said there’s pretty much nothing they can do,” he says.

Halifax Regional Police told CTV News the investigation is ongoing, but did not provide any other details.

Meanwhile, Chiasson says he’s offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

“(The car) is all I’ve ever driven, so it’s all I’ve ever known. And I used to work for Volkswagen. So, this is one of the most iconic cars Volkswagen ever made,” he says.

He says his anger about the incident quickly turned to gratitude, following a flood of community support.

“I’ve accepted that I can’t really change other people’s behaviour. And like I said, I’ve got faith in the community to help me out moving forward. It’s going to be pretty positive,” he says.

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