Concord man accused of throwing explosives at San Francisco police during chase pleads not guilty
SAN FRANCISCO — The man accused of leading Bay Area law enforcement on a car chase and throwing explosives at them pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday, the San Francisco district attorney said.
DA Brooke Jenkins said 42-year-old Concord resident Daniel Richard Garcia pleaded not guilty to 12 charges.
- Attempted second-degree robbery
- Six counts of detonating an explosive device with intent to commit murder
- Three counts of possession of an explosive device in public
- Possession of an incendiary device
- Reckless evading
San Francisco Police said the incident began before 6 p.m. Sunday during an early evening mass at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on Filbert Street. Garcia allegedly demanded money from a fellow parishioner after communion.
"The parishioner continued to pray and ignored him, at which point the suspect then violently assaulted this parishioner, punching them in the head," police said.
Related: Suspect who threw bombs at pursuing San Francisco police has history with explosives
Other parishioners intervened to help the victim and called 911. Beat officers in North Beach responded to the scene within minutes and requested medical aid for the assault victim.
Police then spotted the suspect getting into a car but were unable to stop him, which led to a car chase.
When the vehicle got to Jones Street, police said the suspect threw the first of two explosive devices at the officers chasing him. The pursuit continued from the upper area of Russian Hill to the South of Market neighborhood, where additional officers from several stations joined the chase. A second device was allegedly thrown at pursuing police near the intersection of 8th and Mission.
The chase came to an end in Martinez after the suspect crashed the vehicle, police said.
At the time of the incident, Garcia was facing charges of domestic violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm and had a pending court date. At his arraignment, however, Garcia denied allegations that he committed other crimes while having another pending criminal matter.
The date for his preliminary hearing will be settled during his next court appearance on Thursday. He will remain in custody as the court granted the DA's motion which claims he is a public safety risk.
Police are still investigating the incident and ask anyone with information to call them at 1-415-575-4444.