An East Bay man is currently facing federal charges for setting a University of California Police Department vehicle ablaze, according to an indictment released by U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. Casey Robert Goonan, 34, allegedly used Molotov cocktails to ignite the parked patrol car on UC Berkeley's campus on June 1, leading to significant damage and the vehicle being written off as a total loss.
Details from the indictment suggest Goonan placed six homemade incendiary devices under the car and set them on fire, the act captured on surveillance footage, but fortunately, quick action by UCPD officers prevented the car from exploding even though it did suffer extensive damage to its rear seats, fuel port, and trunk. Facing multiple counts, Goonan could receive a sentence ranging from five to 20 years for each charge of property destruction using fire or an explosive and up to 10 years for possession of an unregistered firearm.
Goonan, a resident of both Oakland and Pleasant Hill, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu as per a release provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Currently detained, his upcoming court appearance is slated for September 17 before Senior United States District Judge Jeffrey S. White in Oakland.
