Judge sets August hearing for suspect in OpenAI CEO firebomb case
A judge set Aug. 19 for Daniel Moreno-Gama’s preliminary hearing in the firebomb case tied to Sam Altman’s Russian Hill home.
A San Francisco judge set Aug. 19 for the preliminary hearing of Daniel Moreno-Gama, the 20-year-old Texas man accused of firebombing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s Russian Hill home. Moreno-Gama remained in custody after appearing in court July 8 for a status hearing, and a mental health evaluation found him eligible for diversion, but his defense is not pursuing that option right now.
Defense attorney Diamond Ward said Moreno-Gama was in an acute psychosis and mental health crisis. Prosecutors say the case reflects a deliberate attack that moved from a private home to a major tech company’s headquarters in the heart of San Francisco. The April 10 attack happened about 3:30 a.m., when Moreno-Gama lit and threw an incendiary device over the gate of Altman’s Russian Hill home, setting fire to the exterior gate. He later went to OpenAI’s Mission Bay office and threatened to burn down the building and kill everyone inside.
Moreno-Gama faces two counts of attempted murder in state court, along with attempted arson, arson of a gate, possession of an incendiary device, possession of a destructive device in a public place, possession of a destructive device or explosive with intent to injure a victim, exploding or igniting a destructive device with intent to murder, attempted criminal threats, possession of a flammable or combustible substance, and attempted arson of an occupied building. The charges carry a potential sentence of 19 years to life in prison, and prosecutors have moved to keep him jailed without bail because of the public-safety risk.
Federal prosecutors separately charged Moreno-Gama with attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm. The case could be treated as domestic terrorism if evidence shows the attack was meant to coerce policy or government action. Federal complaints allege he traveled from Texas to San Francisco with a knife, gun, ammunition, kerosene, a list of targets, and a Molotov cocktail, and that he tried to break into OpenAI’s building with a chair while holding kerosene and saying he had come to burn it down.
No one was injured, and authorities have not said whether Altman was home during the attack.
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