UPDATED 22:58 EDT / JULY 07 2016

NEWS

Man charged with attacking Street View car with Molotov cocktails, more at Google HQ

A man has been charged with attacking a Google Street View car with Molotov cocktails, attacking other vehicles and firing bullets into buildings at Google’s Mountain View headquarters because he thought the search giant was watching him.

Raul Murillo Diaz, 30, of Oakland, California, was charged with arson by federal prosecutors and is currently being held without bail.

According to an affidavit written by a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Diaz made several attacks, the first occurring on May 19 when he threw two Molotov cocktails at a Street View car. Two broken bottles and scorched ground were later found by police, but there was no actual damage to the vehicle.

On June 4 police responded to reports that shots were fired through a window of one of Google’s building, with five projectiles, covered in a “white substance” being found at the scene.

Two weeks later on June 19 another incident occurred where a vehicle was set on fire within Google’s campus; the affidavit claims it was a self-driving vehicle however Google said in a statement that the car destroyed was not a self-driving one.

According to Ars Technica, on June 30 police were called to Google HQ after midnight to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle.

When police arrived, officers noticed the car was speeding and pulled it over, and subsequently observed a gun case and what appeared to be a pipe bomb; the driver, Raul Diaz was then arrested.

Confession

Once interviewed Diaz confessed to the crimes; this according to the affidavit:

Under Miranda, Diaz admitted to committing the two arsons and shooting into the Google building. Diaz said he intended on shooting into another Google building before being stopped by MVPD on 6/30/16. Diaz advised officers that he had a .22 caliber handgun in the gray Volkswagen. He was unsure if the gun was loaded, but he said he had ammunition at his home. Diaz told officers that his motivation behind the attacks was that he felt Google was watching him and that made him upset. Diaz said that he kept journals of the times that he felt Google had been watching him. He also confirmed he lives at 1317 92nd Avenue in Oakland. Diaz said that he has a laptop computer and a tablet in his room. Diaz said the cylindrical device in his vehicle was not a bomb. He said it was a tube filled with cotton and bullets. Diaz claimed it was a target he used for target practice, even though the bomb squad advised it would be a fully functioning explosive device as soon as an accelerant or explosive powder was put into it.

Diaz is set to appear at a hearing this Friday. If found guilty he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Image credit: notbrucelee/Flickr/CC by 2.0

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