(KRON) -- A San Jose engineer faces up to 10 and a half years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to bombing two PG&E electrical transformers in late 2022 and early 2023, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Peter Karasev, 38, admitted to using homemade explosives to intentionally damage transformers in San Jose as part of his plea deal, prosecutors wrote. On Dec. 8, 2022, Karasev destroyed a transformer near the Westfield Oakridge Mall. Nearly a month later, on Jan. 5, 2023, Karasev damaged a transformer and an adjacent building in an explosion near the Plaza Del Rey shopping center.
Peter Karasev (Mugshot provided by San Jose PD)Surveillance cameras caught Karasev riding his bicycle to and from the bombing sites, the San Jose Police Department said.
The bombings resulted in power outages to more than 1,500 San Jose residences and businesses, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins. Some PG&E customers were left without power for nearly 16 hours.
Transformer damages (San Jose Police Department)Investigators said Peter Karasev used a bicycle to get to and from the bombing sites (San Jose Police Department)Karasev worked for autonomous car company Zoox in Foster City and was hired in August 2022, the company confirmed to KRON4. He was arrested in the company’s parking lot on March 1, 2023, court documents show.
A search of his home at 668 Potomac Court, where he lived with his three young children and wife, uncovered a “staggering trove of explosive devices and hazardous chemicals,” Robbins wrote. According to an SJPD bomb squad captain, the entire Potomac Court neighborhood, including a school across the street, faced a “huge danger” from the number of explosives that were inside.
Agents seized “multiple homemade explosive devices, over 300 pounds of explosive precursor materials, hazardous chemicals, firearms, and remote detonation devices in his home, vehicle, and office,” according to the DOJ. The six bedroom, four bathroom home was condemned and put up for sale.
(KRON4 image)When Karasev was questioned by detectives following his arrest, he said he was interested in building model rockets, used meth, and was concerned about the war in Ukraine. “Karasev admitted to using methamphetamine. Karasev also mentioned having a difficult time with the current war between Russia and the Ukraine because he had family in both countries and on both sides,” a police detective wrote.
Karasev faces a sentence of between 102 and 126 months in federal prison under the terms of his plea deal. He must also pay $104,076 in restitution for damages caused by the bombings. Sentencing is set for August 19.
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