Photographer Charged With Trespassing, Battery Near Tesla 'Gigafactory'

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Police say a photographer with the Reno Gazette-Journal on Oct. 9 trespassed at Tesla’s battery factory in Nevada and struck security guards there with a car.

According to Storey County Chief Deputy Melanie Keener, the photographer, Jose Andrews Barron, was charged with misdemeanor trespassing and two counts of felony battery. He was taken to Storey County Jail and held in lieu of $30,000 bail. It’s unclear if Barron is still at the jail.

In a post on its corporate blog, Tesla said Barron and another newspaper employee climbed over a fence and took pictures of the battery factory. When approached, Barron and the other employee jumped into a car with Reno Gazette-Journal stickers. Barron struck a security guard on his way out and hit another security manager on an ATV. According to the newspaper, the driver’s side window was smashed and a seatbelt was cut in half.

Tesla and the newspaper give different accounts of what happened, although the newspaper’s publisher said it would be investigating the incident.

According to Tesla, two people were charged with trespassing, although the sheriff’s office and the newspaper only confirmed one. The automaker didn’t say if its security guards broke the windows or how they managed to pull Barron from the fleeing Jeep.

Barron is a longtime newspaper photographer and has been with the Reno Gazette-Journal since 1998.

The newspaper’s editor and photo editor did not return calls or emails for comment.

It’s unclear if Barron is still employed at the paper.


Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • Tom_M Tom_M on Oct 13, 2015

    I think it's hilarious that a newspaper who's job it is to report news doesn't respond to an inquiry. Don't they usually spin it negatively when someone they are asking doesn't respond?

    • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Oct 13, 2015

      In this case, their employees are involved, and in all things today, the lawyers are in charge, telling everyone to shut up.

  • Master Baiter Master Baiter on Oct 13, 2015

    Looks like one of them there "dreamers."

  • Vent-L-8 Vent-L-8 on Oct 13, 2015

    Sounds like you could film an episode of X-files near the Tesla factory

    • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Oct 14, 2015

      Photographer trespassing isn't a problem unique to Tesla. You can't just barge into a construction site, and many industrial companies prohibit photography of their facility while on company grounds. Nothing to see here. IIRC, there have been two White House lawn runners in the last year. They're lucky to be alive, and they didn't even assault any guards with their vehicle.

  • BrunoT BrunoT on Oct 14, 2015

    They may be overestimating how exciting readers find photos of factory buildings.

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