2 Accused Of Firebombing Conspiracy Targeting Danville Lawyer

A Concord man has been charged with hiring another man to firebomb the homes of attorneys connected to the sale of the San Francisco home where he used to live, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. David Jah, 45, and Kristopher Alexis-Clark, 24, of Vallejo, are accused in a federal criminal complaint filed Friday and unsealed Tuesday involving the use of Molotov cocktails to try to firebomb the homes of probate attorneys in Danville and Lafayette on Nov. 3, 2018.

The Danville residence was also targeted in March 2016. Property damage was reported but no injuries occurred as a result. Both Jah and Alexis-Clark have been charged with conspiracy to commit arson, while Alexis-Clark was also charged with attempted arson and possession of a
destructive device, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

According to the criminal complaint, Jah lived for many years with other family members at a home on 12th Avenue in San Francisco, but after the death of his mother and aunt, his cousin -- the administrator of Jah's aunt's estate -- sought to force a sale of the property, prosecutors said.

Despite Jah's opposition, he was evicted from the property and it was sold in February 2016, with an attorney on record for Jah's cousin as well as one for the administrator of Jah's mother's estate.

On March 2, 2016, only days after the sale of the home, the Danville home of Jah's cousin's attorney was targeted with a Molotov cocktail, and the attorney had alerted law enforcement that he believed Jah was responsible, prosecutors said. The court-appointed referee in the probate action also had his home targeted with gunfire on March 7 of that year, among nearly a dozen
other victims targeted with Molotov cocktails and gunfire who all were connected to the civil litigation or were Jah's former 12th Avenue neighbors, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Early on the morning of Nov. 3, 2018, new Molotov cocktail attacks were reported at the Danville home of Jah's cousin's attorney as well as the Lafayette home of the attorney for the administrator of Jah's mother's estate.

Both homes were in neighborhoods that used license plate reader systems, and both recorded a vehicle with the same license plate number entering the area. On Nov. 7, investigators located the Buick being driven by Alexis-Clark, who admitted in a subsequent interview to being involved in the firebombings, prosecutors said. He said he was paid about $100 for the attacks by someone he knew as "David Price," but later identified as Jah.

A search warrant was issued the next day for Jah's home in Concord where investigators found an AK-47 rifle, ammunition and several cellphones. He was indicted in January for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, prosecutors said.

If convicted, the defendants each face at least five years in prison, and Alexis-Clark faces a possibly longer sentence for allegedly carrying out the attacks, prosecutors said.

By Bay City News