Carlos Espriu Of Palm Desert Sentenced To 5 Years In Federal Prison For Firebombing Republican Group's Office In La Quinta
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A Palm Desert man who tried to firebomb at the East Valley Republican Women Federated office in La Quinta was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison.
Carlos Espriu, 24, was also ordered to pay $5,426 in restitution for the damage caused by the May 31, 2020 attack. He pleaded guilty on March 15 to one count of attempted arson of a building.
During nationwide protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Espriu broke the front windows of the group's headquarters and repeatedly tossed a lit Molotov cocktail made of three bottles he taped together, according to federal prosecutors. Surveillance video shows Espriu leaving, then returning twice to smash more windows with a bat and later throwing the Molotov cocktail into the office, which ignited a fire.
Search warrants executed on Espriu's home recovered a dash cam that still held a recording from June 28, 2020, in which Espriu spoke in detail about lighting the fire at the office of the East Valley Republican Women Federated.
