An East Bay man now faces up to 14 years in state prison for an unhinged incident last fall that began at Saints Peter and Paul Church in North Beach.
On October 29, 42-year-old Daniel Garcia drove from his home in Concord to San Francisco, to attend the 5 pm mass at Saints Peter and Paul Church. While at the mass, shortly after receiving communion, Garcia initiated an altercation with a parishioner, ultimately punching that parishioner and knocking him unconscious.
As the Chronicle reports from the court proceedings, Garcia apparently asked the parishioner for money and then accused him of ripping his shorts. The assault came after the parishioner was ignoring Garcia's accusation.
What ensued, after police arrived, was a madcap chase out of a B-movie or video game in which Garcia fled from police while tossing explosive devices out his car window into their path.
One of these devices, a pipe bomb, detonated in North Beach, but did not injure anyone. Police chased Garcia, who was driving recklessly and running red lights, through San Francisco as he headed back toward the freeway, and he tossed a second pipe bomb out of his car in the vicinity of Eighth and Mission streets.
Once he was on the Bay Bridge, CHP took over the chase, and with the help of a helicopter, trailed Garcia back to Martinez, where he was arrested after his car wheel became disabled.
A CHP officer testified that Garcia made a reference to the video game franchise Grand Theft Auto when he was arrested.
Soon after his arrest, we learned that Garcia had a significant criminal past, including a federal bombing conviction from 2011 — a case in which he set off a car bomb in Fairfield, which is where he's originally from.
A former girlfriend also told the media that she feared for her life while she was with Garcia, and that he had threatened her with Molotov cocktails. She had taken out a domestic violence retraining order against him, and said he had a substance abuse problem, using both cocaine and steroids.
After pleading not guilty in November, Garcia was tried this week and found guilty Thursday of three counts of detonating an explosive device, four counts of possession of an explosive device, and one count of evading an officer. He was also apparently out on bail from a separate case in the East Bay, and there will be a ruling on that as well.
His sentencing is scheduled for April 23, and the Chronicle reports that he faces up to 14 years in prison.
Assistant District Attorney Edward Mario, who prosecuted the case, put out a statement saying, "Mr. Garcia time and again placed civilians and law enforcement in danger by choosing to construct dangerous explosive devices, transport them to San Francisco, and then explode them on city streets, not to mention assaulting an innocent man while he prayed in church. Mr. Garcia has shown no remorse for his actions but the jury’s verdict ensures that he will face accountability for his unprompted violent and reckless behavior."
