Fairfield Man Indicted For Car Bombing

FAIRFIELD, Calif. (CBS13) – Federal authorities have indicted a Fairfield resident on a variety of explosives charges for allegedly bombing a car at an apartment complex in May and triggering a SWAT standoff in June.

Daniel Richard Garcia, 30, is facing charges of malicious use of explosive materials, possession of a destructive device during a crime of violence and possession of an unregistered destructive device.

A joint investigation into the explosive device that damaged a vehicle and apartment complex on the 1400 block of Phoenix Drive early in the morning on May 27 revealed a "notable amount" of smokeless gun powder that had not been burned in the blast, along with several blue metal cylinders that were identified as ruptured propane canisters.

Investigators also found pieces of a box that, when reconstructed, showed a model number for a power inverter readily available on the internet.

Fairfield investigators said the owners of the vehicle had once been roommates with Garcia and were threatened repeatedly by the suspect after they moved away while he was in prison late last year.

At one point, shortly after he was released from custody, Garcia told one of the victims he would blow up her car, saying, "You know I have thehere or I can get it on the internet," according to the criminal complaint. The victims reported additional disturbances at their residence at least three other times, authorities said.

When investigators from the Fairfield Police Department, FBI, ATF and Yolo County Bomb Squad searched Garcia's home on June 16, they found a "live improvised explosive device" inside his garage that closely resembled the device used in the May 27 bombing.

Authorities said they also found a power inverter that matched the model number listed on the box used in the first explosion.

Garcia was arrested two days later when a neighbor reported that he finally returned home, sparking a SWAT standoff that lasted for almost eight hours. Officers arrested Garcia without incident.

If convicted on all of the charges against him, Garcia could be sentenced to life in prison.