Unsealed: The federal complaint against Casey Goonan
Goonan was initially charged with arson and other crimes in Alameda County, but the feds took over the case.
Casey Goonan, the suspect in a series of politically-motivated arsons at UC Berkeley, is now facing a federal charge in connection with the firebombing of a UCPD police cruiser last month, court papers show.
Goonan was initially charged with arson and other crimes in Alameda County, but the feds took over the case in recent weeks and the local case was dropped.
According to the federal complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court on June 26 but has been under seal until today, Goonan "used several destructive devices — Molotov cocktails — to damage and destroy a parked University of California Police Department (UCPD) vehicle on June 1."
He is facing a single count of 18 U.S.C. 844(f)(1), which involves using an explosive or fire to damage or destroy government property.
Special Agent Tiffany Speirs of the FBI's domestic terrorism squad filed the complaint and a related affidavit, which outlines some of the evidence against Goonan.
The affidavit includes many details about the UC Berkeley arson attack that had not previously been released.
As part of her work, Speirs wrote that she had "participated in several investigations of individuals who have committed criminal acts in furtherance of ideological goals, to include violent extremism."
Surveillance footage, DNA and a political blog post taking responsibility for the arson attack helped authorities link the crime to Goonan, according to the affidavit.
UC Berkeley police vehicle arson: New details
In the document, Speirs wrote that security cameras initially captured Goonan's blue Honda CRV in Berkeley shortly before 5 a.m. June 1.
When he got to Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue, adjacent to the UC Berkeley campus near several parked UCPD cruisers, he stopped for an entire minute but did not park, she wrote.
"I believe that the extended stop at that location is consistent with a person conducting reconnaissance," Speirs wrote.
At 5:01 a.m., the driver parked the Honda at Durant Avenue and Bowditch Street, she wrote.
"A tall white male, wearing dark colored pants, a dark colored hoodie, and a white mask … exited the passenger side of the vehicle, carrying what appeared to be a large dark colored reusable shopping bag that appeared to be weighed down by its contents," Speirs wrote.
The man walked down Bancroft Way to Barrows Lane, then "set down the shopping bag, kicked it under the fuel tank area of a marked UCPD patrol car, and ignited it. The patrol car caught on fire," she wrote.
A short time later, a witness walked into the UCPD lobby at Sproul Hall and said a man in dark clothing had used "a blow torch style lighter to ignite something near the left rear tire of a UCPD patrol car," according to the complaint.
UCPD officers put out the fire but not before it caused significant damage to the police vehicle.
Authorities were able to search the shopping bag from the crime scene and found "six Molotov cocktails, each consisting of a particular brand beer bottle filled with ignitable liquid (which was later confirmed to be gasoline) and stuffed with paper towels, which appeared to be designed to act as wicks. The six Molotov cocktails were placed on top of a piece of plywood inside of the reusable shopping bag," Speirs wrote.
Surveillance footage captured the driver returning to the Honda CRV and leaving about five minutes after he arrived, according to court papers.
But the Honda returned later that day just before 10:40 a.m., Speirs wrote: "A person who appeared to match the description of SUSPECT 1 exited the vehicle and, using what appears to be a mobile telephone, took several photographs of the UCPD vehicle that had been lit on fire earlier in the day from different angles."
When the driver left, his license plate was caught on camera, according to the complaint.
The license plate initially led authorities to an address for Goonan on Vicente Street in Oakland, Speirs wrote.
Several days later, UCPD located the Honda parked outside the Pleasant Hill home where Goonan's mother lives, according to the complaint.
Authorities searched the home in mid-June and found mail for Goonan as well as his phone and a reusable shopping bag that was similar to the one recovered from the UC Berkeley arson scene, according to court papers.
Authorities also searched Goonan's Honda, where they found a box of matches, lighter fluid, two lighters and a gasoline container "containing a liquid that smelled of gasoline," Speirs wrote.
Authorities said that DNA found on the Molotov cocktails wicks from the UC Berkeley arson case were a likely match to Goonan.
"The laboratory concluded that GOONAN could not be excluded as a possible source of DNA, and that the probability of an unrelated, randomly selected individual having the same DNA profile as the DNA profile detected on the sample was at least 1 in 1.66 billion," Speirs wrote.
Emilie Raguso
The complaint also referenced a post on the Abolition Media website titled "Student Intifada as our Historical Duty: Fulfill it or Betray it."
The post included photos of the damaged police vehicle and took responsibility for the crime.
Casey Goonan. ACSO
"The post went on to declare that the firebombing was done in retaliation against UCPD and the University of California, and ended with 'Death to amerikkka Glory to the martyrs submitted anon by email,'" Speirs wrote.
She said the post included details that authorities had not made public, "such as the location of the device and the approximate timing of the attack."
In early June, Speirs said an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) linked the Abolition Media post to True Leap Press, where Goonan was listed on its website as an editor.
At his mother's home in Pleasant Hill, authorities also found mail addressed to a True Leap Press P.O. box that authorities said Goonan had opened, Speirs wrote.
In addition to the ATF, Speirs said UCPD and the California Office of the State Fire Marshal assisted in the investigation.
If convicted, Goonan could face 5-20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to the complaint.
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Emilie Raguso
Emilie Raguso
