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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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East Bay Residents Charged With Firebombing Attorneys

Two men were charged with firebombing attorneys who opposed them in civil lawsuits pertaining to shady real estate deals.

(CN) - Two men were charged with firebombing attorneys who opposed them in civil lawsuits pertaining to shady real estate deals.

David Jah and Kristopher Alexis-Clark threw firebombs at houses belonging to two separate attorneys in Contra Costa County who had been involved in civil litigation with Jah relating to property in which Jah claimed an interest, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court Tuesday.  

The criminal complaint accuses Jah, 45, of Concord, California and Alexis-Clark, 24, of Vallejo, California, of conspiring to commit arson when they threw Molotov cocktails at the residences in incidents occurring two years apart.

The first firebombing was in March 2016 when Jah, most likely acting alone, threw Molotov cocktails at a house in Danville where one of the attorneys lived, the complaint says.

Then on November 3, 2018, the two men gathered outside the home of an attorney living in Lafayette, throwing multiple Molotov cocktails, federal law enforcement officials said. The two men reportedly hit the house in Danville again the same day.

Although no one was hurt, both houses sustained damage, officials said.

According to law enforcement, Jah approached Alexis-Clark in October 2018, offering to pay him to participate in the November crime.

Jah is currently in federal custody for an unrelated matter. If convicted of the current crimes, Jah and Alexis-Clark will face at least five years in prison with a maximum sentence of 20 years and fines of $250,000. Alexis-Clark could serve an additional 10 years for possessing an illegal destructive device.

The investigation was carried out jointly by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the local police departments of Lafayette, Danville, San Francisco and Vallejo.

Alexis-Clark appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero on Tuesday morning and is slated to reappear in January of next year. Jah is slated to appear in front of U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup on March 5.

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Categories / Criminal

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