- Indian-origin millionaire Vikram Beri was arrested for attempting to set fire to a California winery
- Beri threw a wine bottle at staff and crashed into two parked cars while fleeing the scene
- Police used pepperball and spray to force Beri out of his Tesla after he refused to surrender
An Indian-origin millionaire, Vikram Beri, was arrested in the United States for allegedly trying to set fire to a winery in California. While trying to flee, he intentionally crashed into two parked cars.
The 42-year-old threw a bottle of wine at the staff when they confronted him while he was trying to start the fire.
According to an official statement on X, Beri drove his Tesla off the embankment and refused to surrender even after de-escalation attempts. Eventually the police had to use pepperball and spray, which forced him to "crawl out of the car".
Beri, who is an entrepreneur from Menlo Park, was taken into custody at the Garrod Farms Estate Winery & Stables in Saratoga on December 8 afternoon local time, per the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.
He was booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest and was later taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Beri founded BetterLYF Wellness, an online mental health platform, nine years ago. He is also the Executive Director of Business Development at Fieldking - a global manufacturer of farm equipment - and has previous experience with consulting at Deloitte.
He pursued mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois and an MBA in marketing and strategy from the Indian School of Business.
