Arson Suspect Believed Google Was Watching Him
MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) -- A 30-year-old Oakland man who allegedly committed arson at Google headquarters in Mountain View was arrested late last week when he brought a potentially explosive device to the tech company's offices, according to court documents.
Raul Murillo Diaz was charged with malicious damage by an explosive to a building or vehicle, according to a complaint filed Friday in federal court.
Since mid-May, Diaz allegedly carried out two arsons, a shooting and brought a potentially explosive device to the tech company's campus off of Amphitheatre Parkway, according to the complaint.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is conducting an ongoing investigation into the case, agency spokeswoman Helen Dunkel said.
Police received a report at 12:04 a.m. last Thursday of a suspicious car in the area of San Antonio Road and Bayshore Parkway, which is near Google headquarters, according to the complaint filed by ATF Special Agent Michael Nuttall.
Company security officers saw a gray 2004 Volkswagen Touareg randomly enter driveways and the driver slam the brakes for no reason.
The security officers followed the vehicle until police caught up and conducted a traffic stop, where they found a suspicious object inside.
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office bomb squad responded to the scene and determined the item wasn't a threat, sheriff's Deputy Salvador Zuno said.
Diaz was detained and interviewed by ATF agents later in the morning, when he confessed to two arsons and a shooting at a Google building.
The 30-year-old man said he planned a shooting at another building on the Google campus before officers stopped him on Thursday and had a .22-caliber handgun in the vehicle, according to Nuttall.
Diaz told the agents he felt the tech company was "watching him," a feeling that he recorded in journals.
The object inside the car was a tube with cotton and bullets inside that he claimed he used for target practice, but the bomb squad said the item could've been explosive if an accelerant or explosive powder was added.
Security video showed similarities between the suspect and SUV in three other incidents at the Google campus in less than two months, according to the complaint.
On May 19, a Google employee saw a man throw a beer bottle at a company Street View vehicle and the surrounding area caught on fire, Nuttall said.
Surveillance video showed the suspect throw two beer bottles that were later found to be Molotov cocktails before fleeing in a SUV.
On June 4, a person loading a trailer near a different Google building heard "popping" sounds and arriving officers discovered broken glass left from a shooting at the campus, Nuttall said.
Six days later, a vehicle fire was reported at another Google building and police found a self-driving car was destroyed in the blaze, according to Nuttall.
Diaz has been booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose, where he is being held without bail, according to online jail records.
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