• A suspected explosive device was recovered from a lake at Sonoma State University by the sheriff’s department bomb squad Thursday evening after the device was spotted by a person who was fishing for metal objects with a magnet. [KRON4]
• Despite having one of the largest economies in the world, the California job market is currently among the worst in the country. [Bay Area News Group]
• A person was fatally shot in San Bruno Friday afternoon, which authorities believe was a homicide, and a large structure fire erupted soon after with smoke that could be seen for miles. [NBC Bay Area]

• During Green Day’s set at Friday night’s Spotify-sponsored FanDuel Party in San Francisco — prior to their big performance opening the Super Bowl in Santa Clara Sunday, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong advised ICE agents to “Quit that (expletive) job you have.” [Bay Area News Group]
• Friends and family of Jayda Mabrey, the 15-year-old girl who was fatally shot in SF’s Western Addition last week, urged the Board of Supervisors to focus on gun control policies and creating community spaces for youth, with one community member pointing out the exorbitant amount of money and resources going toward the Super Bowl festivities while Mabrey’s family plans her funeral. [The Untethered Telegram]
• Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu are suing two websites, owned by the Gatalog Foundation Inc. and CTRLPEW LLC, for distributing over 150 designs of 3D-printed ghost guns and accessories, which can be created  “with a few simple keystrokes.” [CalMatters]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff thinks Trump should send the National Guard to combat crime in San Francisco. He also thinks SF should “re-fund” the police force, as if it were ever defunded. [Chronicle]
• Luigi Aprea Elementary School in Gilroy had a power outage Thursday due to copper wire theft, the second such incident at a Gilroy elementary school in a month. A bill is currently on Governor Newsom’s desk that would tighten regulations and deter the sale of stolen metal in California. [KGO]

• Officials from the South Lake Tahoe church where Mayor Tamara Wallace publicly admitted to stealing funds say that they caught her in the act, and she stole $300,000. The church is still recovering from a fire that caused around $50,000 in damages about five years ago. [Chronicle]
• The crowd was sparse at Fleet Week Friday without the Blue Angels or any other presence from the US military due to the federal government shutdown. [NBC Bay Area]
• San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office informed the American Indian Cultural Center that the city is ending its 20-year collaboration hosting the annual Native American Heritage Night in favor of a different, unnamed partner — here’s their petition. [Mission Local]

National:

• A huge blast at a Tennessee explosives manufacturing plant has killed multiple people, and 19 are missing. Four to five people were brought to the hospital, according to the sheriff. [ABC News]

• A cleverly composed photo taken by photojournalist Jim Watson at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting makes Trump look like he has devil horns. [Huffington Post]

Video of the Day:

Portland protesters are driving home the “boiling frog” analogy with these brilliant frog costumes amid ICE’s ongoing invasion of the city. (The actual boiling frog experiment has been debunked, but the metaphor prevails.)

Earlier this week, an ICE officer sprayed pepper spray directly into the valve of one of the frog costumes. [The Oregonian]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

The suspect has now been named in Sunday's bizarre incident that began in North Beach and led to a police chase across the Bay that included improvised explosives.

The SFPD revealed late Monday that the suspect is 42-year-old Concord resident Daniel Garcia. As the Chronicle reports, Garcia has a significant criminal past, and a former girlfriend who had a restraining order against him says she is "not surprised" by the latest charges.

"I would have nightmares about the house being lit on fire," the girlfriend, who preferred to remain anonymous, tells the Chronicle. She says that Garcia was obsessed with fire and even threatened her with Molotov cocktails.

She took out a domestic violence-related restraining order against Garcia over a decade ago, in 2010.

A year later, in 2011, Garcia was convicted in federal court for a car bombing in Fairfield, following an eight-hour standoff with SWAT officers.

Garcia grew up in Fairfield, as the Chronicle reports, and his brushes with the law date all the way back to 1996, when, as a juvenile, he was arrested on suspicion of arson and use of a destructive device.

The former girlfriend says Garcia had a substance abuse problem, and that doing cocaine and taking steroids would exacerbate his rage.

According to a police report obtained by the Chronicle, Garcia was arrested in May of this year in a domestic violence incident involving a new girlfriend. Following that incident, Concord officials petitioned the court to have his shotgun taken away from him.

That girlfriend, according to police, had visible injuries and a partially shaven head when Garcia was arrested, apparently due to a his forcibly trying to shave her head.

Garcia is accused of punching a parishioner Sunday evening at Saints Peter and Paul Church on Filbert Street in North Beach, during a service. According to police, Garcia asked the parishioner for money, and when he was ignored, assaulted the person, temporarily rendering them unconscious.

After exiting the church, Garcia was seen carrying a closed folding knife, and he allegedly then got in his car and, while being chased by the SFPD, tossed a pipe bomb out of his car at the officers' vehicle.

A second explosive device, which has been described as both a pipe bomb and a Molotov cocktail, was allegedly tossed at police near Eighth and Mission streets, before Garcia got onto the freeway toward the East Bay.

CHP took over the chase, and with the help of a CHP helicopter, Garcia was arrested Sunday in Martinez.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin called the incident one of the "weirdest things ever," and he added, "Thank God nobody got seriously hurt."

Charges against Garcia are still pending.

The case remains an open investigation and anyone with information to share is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411, beginning the message with "SFPD."

Previously: Man Suspected of Assault In SF Church Allegedly Tossed Multiple Explosives Out of His Car, Led Authorities on Chase Across the Bay

A wacky story involving a chase from San Francisco deep into Contra Costa County began unfolding Sunday evening in North Beach, when a suspect allegedly assaulted a parishioner at Saints Peter and Paul Church on Filbert Street.

The SFPD says that officers responded to the church at 5:52 p.m. Sunday on the report of an assault, and they found a suspect who fled in his vehicle despite attempts to stop him. As KPIX reports, the subsequent chase through San Francisco featured multiple "suspicious devices" tossed out of the suspects car at police, at least one of which was a Molotov cocktail that was thrown near Eighth and Mission streets.

As Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who represents the North Beach neighborhood, tells the Chronicle that he had friends who attend Saints Peter and Paul Church who were present when the assault occurred, saying the suspect had gone up to take communion. Also, they said the man had been to the church before.

Peter Marlow, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese, said that the suspect was asked to consume a communion wafer and refused, and then allegedly punched someone before fleeing.

"This one is one of the weirdest things ever. I’m struggling to understand what the motivation of the individual was," Peskin tells the Chronicle. "Thank God nobody got seriously hurt."

The pursuit of the suspect, as KTVU reports, became a multi-county affair, and the SFPD let California Highway Patrol take the lead beyond the Bay Bridge. The chase ultimately ended in Martinez with the suspect's arrest, and CHP had a bomb-handling robot investigate the contents of the suspect vehicle and its trunk.

According to troopers, there were bomb-making ingredients found in the car, per KTVU.

The suspect has not yet been publicly identified.

Peskin told the SF Standard that the suspect, after being arrested, "wanted to know how many points he got in his Grand Theft Auto game."  It's not clear if this was a joke or if the suspect may have actually been operating under the delusion that he was in a video game.

The man allegedly tossed at least two devices from his car — an alleged pipe bomb on the 1500 block of Jones Street, and the aforementioned Molotov cocktail while driving through SoMa.

In a statement, SFPD Sgt. Kathryn Winters said, "This is still an active incident and further information will be provided when available."

Anyone with information to share about the case is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411, beginning the message with "SFPD."

Update: At a press conference Monday, SFPD Assistant Chief David Lazar said that the suspect reportedly demanded money from the parishioner inside the North Beach church before assaulting them. Lazar described the suspect as a Hispanic male in his early 40s, but said that the suspect's name is being withheld until later today.

Photo: Til Kraus

It may be days or weeks before we get anything more definitive about the cause of yesterday's massive home explosion on 22nd Avenue, but with speculation running rampant in the last 24 hours, we at least now have a clue.

Some mysterious, industrial sounding containers were removed from the home's debris on Friday morning, and the Chronicle is referring to them as "barrels, cylinders and 50-gallon drums."

Agents from the federal bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are now part of the investigation, given the suspiciously large nature of the blast that killed one person, damaged at least six homes, and completely destroyed two homes.

The San Francisco Fire Department hasn't officially commented on the ongoing investigation, but Public Information Officer Captain Jonathan Baxter tells the Chronicle, regarding the barrels, "They’re things that are unusual to find in a home," adding, "but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily related to the cause of the fire."

Baxter said the containers contained some liquids, but he did not say what they were.

Supervisor Joel Engardio, in whose district the explosion and fire took place, made early, speculative comments that it could have been gas-line explosion of some kind. Now, though, he tells the Chronicle, it was likely something else. "The blast itself, the magnitude of it, makes you wonder about the cause. Houses usually don’t just explode like that," Engardio said.

The explosion happened on Thursday around 9:30 a.m., and at least one neighbor's account suggested that flames were visible at the home before the explosion occurred.

The home, one of a number of similar row-style homes on 22nd Avenue built in 1931, had five bedrooms and a garage on the lower level.

Earlier we learned that the person seriously injured in the blast was was a home health aide or nurse, and that she emerged from the burning building visibly charred and yelling about someone else inside.

A neighbor said that a husband and disabled wife lived in the building.

The remains pulled from the rubble on Thursday night have not yet been identified.

Previously: Body Recovered at Site of House Explosion and Fire In the Sunset; Six Homes and Five Cars Damaged In Blast

Photo via SFFD

A Napa businessman whose January 15 arrest we learned of last week, turns out to have been allegedly plotting to attack the state Capitol, as well as Twitter and Facebook, all in the name of Donald Trump.

Much like this unhinged idiot in the East Bay who was arrested by the feds this week, Napa resident Ian Benjamin Rogers, 44, was taken into custody by federal agents earlier this month following a tip that he was in possession of several illegal weapons. As KTVU reported, Napa County sheriff's deputies served a warrant at Rogers's business, British Auto Repair of Napa, on January 15, and found a cache of over 50 firearms, including illegal assault rifles and automatic weapons, as well as five homemade pipe bombs, 15,000 rounds of ammunition, and several pounds of gun powder.

A federal bomb squad went about detonating the five devices outside the business, using a makeshift bunker made out of rubber tires. The Napa Valley Register, whose offices are very close to British Auto Repair, reports that employees were instructed to stay on the newspaper's property while the bomb squad and its robot were at work.

Now we learn via an affidavit in support of a federal criminal complaint that Rogers was allegedly among the American "patriots" who spent the early part of the new year fomenting rage and insurrection over Biden's pending inauguration. And text messages that he allegedly sent, according to federal agents, contained phrases like, "We can attack Twitter or the democrats you pick... I think we can attack either easily," and "I want to blow up a democrat building bad," and "I hope 45 goes to war if he doesn’t I will."

Among his possessions, according to federal agents, was a piece of Trump-era swag for the white supremacist set: a White Privilege Card that looks kind of like an old Diners Club card or something, with the number all made out of "45" and the tagline "Trumps Everything."

As KPIX reports, Rogers also had a sticker on his car associated with the far-right anti-government militia group known as the Three Percenters.

"We allege that Ian Benjamin Rogers possessed homemade pipe bombs and the materials to make more," U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson said in a news release. "We draw a bright line between lawlessness and our constitutional freedoms. We will prosecute illegal weapons stockpiles regardless of the motivation of the offender."

Like 35-year-old Bay Point resident Robert Lemke, who was arrested Tuesday for allegedly making criminal threats to a journalist and the family of a New York congressman, Rogers appears to have been obsessed with both the falsehood pushed by Trump that Democrats stole the 2020 election, and the notion of an armed uprising. But unlike Lemke, Rogers appears to have been preparing for actual violence and, as he allegedly said in texts, "war."

Other texts mentioned in the affidavit include a discussion of plans to blow up Gavin Newsom's office at the state Capitol, and the headquarters of Twitter and Facebook.

"Let’s see what happens then we act," Rogers allegedly said via text. "I’m thinking sac office first target... Then maybe bird and face offices." FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor said that they believe "sac office" referred to Governor Gavin Newsom's office in Sacramento, and "bird and face" refer to Twitter and Facebook.

"These commies need to be told what’s up," Rogers allegedly said.

In addition to the cache of explosives and weapons, agents say they found bomb-making guides and materials, including black powder, pipes, end caps, and books like The Anarchist Cookbook, and the U.S. Army Improvised Munitions Handbook, as well as a recipe for homemade C4 explosive.

The case has been assigned to the the Domestic Terrorism Squad of the FBI's San Francisco Field Office.

As he awaits his preliminary hearing, Rogers is being held in state custody in lieu of a $5 million bail. The weapons offenses alone, according to the complaint, carry a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

Related: Bay Area Man Arrested After He Allegedly Went Nuts Threatening Democratic Congressman and His Family on Jan. 6

The FBI is on a manhunt for this 42-year-old man, pictured at right, Ryan Kelly Chamberlain II, whose San Francisco apartment was found to have explosives and bomb-making material in it on Saturday. As ABC 7 reports, he's considered armed and dangerous and could be driving around a Nissan Altima filled with explosives.

It's unclear how Chamberlain came to the FBI's attention, but they arrived at his Russian Hill apartment Saturday with a search warrant, only to find him gone. They searched the apartment near Jackson and Polk as part of a federal criminal investigation, and men in hazmat suits removed multiple objects from the premises, including a toolbox that they feared was a bomb. At some point, a "device" in the apartment was safely detonated, and neighbors said they heard a loud bang.

Early reports suggested that there may have been ricin, a deadly poison, in the apartment, but those reports seem to have been unfounded.

Chamberlain is on the loose and the public is being asked to be on the lookout, but not to go near him if you do happen to see him. What to look for:

Chamberlain is described as a white man with brown hair and blue eyes who is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 225 pounds. He was last seen wearing a navy blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans and driving a white 2008 Nissan Altima with either California or Texas license plates 7FQY085 and BX9M042 respectively.

This appears to be his Facebook, and by all accounts he looks like a totally normal guy who goes to Off the Grid and posts things about GlassHoles. This is how he describes himself in his about.me profile:

Communications hack. Social-Media-ist since "social" was over here and "media" was over there. SF political junkie and oft-times operative. Save-the-world type. Early-adopter geek wannabe. Cheerleader for running and pro-cycling. Mouthpiece for movie-music. Starter-upper. Die-hard Giant.

Tips can be submitted to the FBI here, or by phone at 415-553-7400.

Update: The Chronicle has delved further into Chamberlain's story, and it turns out that he was well known in public relations circles around town. He lost a job in November working for Project Sport, and friends say he had gotten a little "weird" and introverted since then. A friend said to the AP, "I've never seen him be violent, ever, but I would definitely say that maybe emotionally and mentally he was a little unstable." This is his Twitter, and as you can see he was tweeting just on Friday, joking about the Hidden Cash Guy. [Chron]

Update 2: He posted a suicide note online, which published Monday morning. However he also tweeted this same morning, so it seems he's still alive.

[ABC 7]
[CBS 5]

A woman flying from Newark to San Francisco International Airport this morning apparently thought it would be an acceptable idea to stow some Claymore land mines packed with shrapnel in her checked luggage.

The woman told authorities she was bringing the military-grade anti-personnel explosive devices to an "explosives demonstration". The land mines were confiscated by the TSA, but the woman was allowed to fly on a later flight to San Francisco.

Since the woman didn't end up in Guantanamo Bay, we can only assume that means she is either a member of a law enforcement agency or she had a cameo spot on an upcoming episode of Mythbusters. Just as long as she didn't mean this kind of demonstration.

[CBS5]

Far be it for us to call anyone stupid, because that's just rude, but we're having trouble understanding the mindset a man who boarded a flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco carrying fireworks. Joseph Picklo, 29, from Dallas, Pennsylvania was attempting to board United flight 445 Thursday morning with flash powder and three M-80s. Did we mention that, according to reports, said flash powder was hidden inside a water bottle he was also trying to carry aboard the plane?

"A spokeswoman for the airport says the suspicious items were first noticed at a security checkpoint. The checkpoint opened about a half hour later, reports KGO. "The bomb squad is investigating the materials away from the airport."

After being arrested, Picklo explained to authorities that he had fooled around with the fireworks before and had forgot he had them in his backpack. Police do not suspect Picklo of having any terrorist ties.

[KGO]

During a routine traffic stop in Sonoma county on Tuesday, Robert Justin Vasseur, 22, was taken into custody after cops found him driving with a suspended license. Cops also found 49 homemade bombs inside his car upon further investigation. According to The Chronicle, a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy "found 49 handmade destructive devices, each bigger than a standard firecracker." Bomb experts working with the police also discovered materials used to make the bombs.

Using a search warrant to check out Vasseur's home, cops encountered an "uncooperative woman," Tamblyn Borton, 50, who "repeatedly interfered with deputies and was arrested after she lunged at two of them." Cops went on to discover additional bombs, fuses, gunpowder, rifles, and handguns.

The suspect is being held under $50,000 bail, scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in Sonoma County Superior Court.

Grenades were discovered on the 600 block of Potrero Avenue this morning at around 7:15. According to BCN (via SFGate): "Potrero Avenue has been closed between Mariposa and 19th streets, and 18th Street has been closed between Hampshire and Utah streets during the investigation, Dangerfield said."

SF Appeal notes, "the 33 Stanyan bus is at a standstill, and the 9 San Bruno bus is being routed around the scene."

No word yet wether or not the explosives are fake, but you should stay out of the area this morning until further notice.

Update: All clear. Potrero Hill Avenue has reopened.

SFist sources tell us that the bomb squad has been called to Golden Gate Park at JFK and 30th Avenue Carl Street in Cole Valley at around 6 p.m. Now, which one of you accidentally left your pack back in the park? But seriously, folks, we're not sure what the entire story is yet, or if there even is one, but we'll update when we know more. Stay tuned.

Update 6:56 p.m.: Well, we're not sure what's going on exactly. Some people on NJudahChron are saying they heard it was a shooting, that's a "man cleaning out his garage found an old WWII mortar shell" (another one? Jesus fucking Christ, old men. Seriously. Get rid of that shit, will ya? Or call someone who can take care of it for you), or...who knows.

Update: 7 p.m.: Ah, the news knows what's up. According to KGO, "Residents have said they have heard that a mortar shell was discovered inside an apartment, but this has not been confirmed by San Francisco police. Officials have rolled out a remote-controlled bomb robot." No confirmation? Then by all means, readers, go ahead and make wild assumptions until we know for sure! (But, please, stay out of the Carl Street/Cole Valley area for now.)

Update: 7:03: Jim Herd, who told us about the bomb squad, snapped up this shot of it all going down. (Really, Herd is a San Francisco treasure. He's everywhere all at once.) Also, yeah, it was a mortor. Jim tells us "they picked up the mortar at 200 Cole and then went on a caravan." What a way to kick off the 4th, eh? Eh? Eh?

Mark Woods, an 18-year-old UC Davis economics major, was arrested today after authorities found a couple of pipe bombs in his dorm room, going well above and beyond the school's no hot plate policy.

More than 400 students were quickly evacuated from their dorm rooms last night after a n anonymous tipster called the police about the explosive materials. Woods, now facing two felony charges, including possessing explosives to make a bomb, meant no harm, according to his roommate:

Woods' roommate Robert Chao says that Woods wasn't plotting to do harm to anyone. "He had no intention of blowing anything up. He had no ill intentions as a person. That's not him."

Poor kid. We'd normally rail against him for acting so foolish, but seeing as how there's little to do in Davis aside from huffing glue and giving cows makeovers, we feel bad for Woods. But only a little. Anyway, goes on to report that "[a]uthorities believe it was an isolated incident and said there was no need to detonate any devices." And the evacuated students? They pulled "couches together in the dining hall and passed the time with movies." Ah, the college life.

The hostage standoff is over. No one died. Nothing went ka-blam. The "deranged man" at Clinton's HQ was simply the town crazy infamous around those parts for his kooky mental instability. (Then, this situation must happen on a daily basis over at Hillary Clinton's SF headquarters.) According to CBS 5:

WBZ Radio's Lana Jones learned that the [wacky] man's stepson reported to police that his stepfather had been drinking for two days. The son said his stepfather had strapped two road flares to his chest and told his son Friday morning that he was going to the Clinton campaign office. He reportedly told his stepson "to watch the news."

Oh, that's sad. Sure, what he did is terrible but we have a soft spot for all you crazies out there. The poor thing.

Clinton has yet to make a formal post-hostage statement. Though when she does, it's sure to be milked dry. (She never ended up contacting the suspect, BTW.) But Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney jumped in on the action, saying that "[e]veryone is keeping those involved in the situation in New Hampshire in our thoughts and prayers right now as well, with hope towards a safe resolution." Which? Is a total lie.

Anyway, we're happy to see the standoff is over sans bloodshed or booms.