Suspect accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO’s home will remain detained

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — Daniel Moreno-Gama, the man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and threatening to burn down the company headquarters, will remain detained while awaiting trial, a San Francisco judge ruled Tuesday.

San Francisco Judge Kenneth Wine said there was clear and convincing evidence that Moreno-Gama was a danger to the public, citing his acts of violence toward Altman and the “lengthy” time he spent planning and preparing.

Wine additionally acknowledged that Moreno-Gama may have been suffering from a mental health episode the night of April 10, but said that public safety was his top concern.

“It may be true that Mr. Moreno-Gama is seriously mentally ill, but here at the bail hearing, I have to protect the public. … Holding him here does that,” the judge said. “I do think public safety is at issue. It is extraordinary to take a firebomb, no matter how incompetently, and throw it at someone’s house.”

Moreno-Gama, a 20-year-old from Houston, faces eight state charges, including two counts of attempted murder, attempted arson and possession of an incendiary device, in connection with the April 10 attack on Altman’s house.

State prosecutors also charged him with attempted criminal threats, possession of a flammable or combustible substance and attempted arson of an occupied building.

He pleaded not guilty on May 5, denying all of the charges against him.

Prosecutors claim Moreno-Gama traveled from Texas to San Francisco with the intention of killing Altman. They say he traveled with a knife, a gun, ammunition and a list of targets, as well as acquired multiple containers of kerosene to carry out his plan.

They further claim Moreno-Gama acquired, or made, a Molotov cocktail and brought it to Altman’s residence in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco around 3:30 a.m. on April 10, lit the device and threw it, causing a fire on the top of the driveway gate.

Then, they say Moreno-Gama traveled around three miles across the city to OpenAI headquarters and attempted to break into the building with a chair, threatening to burn it down, before he was arrested by San Francisco Police.

Prosecutors say in the federal criminal complaint that police found Moreno-Gama in possession of incendiary devices, a jug of kerosene, a blue lighter and a document seemingly written by Moreno-Gama that advocated against artificial intelligence and the executives of AI companies, including Altman.

In the document, Moreno-Gama says he killed or attempted to kill Altman and listed names and addresses reportedly belonging to board members and CEOs of other AI companies and investors, according to the federal prosecutors.

Moreno-Gama appeared at his bail hearing Tuesday with his attorneys, Diamond Ward and Nuha Abusamra, deputy public defenders at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. Assistant District Attorney Heather Trevisan also attended the hearing.

Ward asked the court to release Moreno-Gama on his own recognizance or set bail at just $10,000, telling the judge that he was not a danger to the community or flight risk and had strong family support.

She characterized Moreno-Gama before April 10 as a normal 20-year-old living in Texas, who attended community college, worked at a pizzeria and had no criminal history, before his mental health began to decline.

Ward said Moreno-Gama sought treatment for his mental health issues, including psychosis, and started seeing a psychiatrist in February. She added that he was diagnosed with more than one mental health disorder.

Ward additionally told the judge that Moreno-Gama’s mother had relocated to support her son through the case and that he had “ample support” from his church in Texas and churches in the community.

Moreno-Gama’s attorneys acknowledged the charges against him were serious, but asked the court to consider the fact that no one was injured, as it would in any other case.

“Taking this all into consideration, treat this case like any other case and not the fact that the alleged victim was a billionaire,” Abusamra said. “Would this case be treated the same way if the alleged victim were a normal member of the public?”

In response, Trevisan said any accusations of preferential treatment were “offensive and untrue,” adding that “not many people build Molotov cocktails and throw them at homes in San Francisco.”

Trevisan said the state was asking for Moreno-Gama to be detained, not for bail, describing Moreno-Gama as “extraordinarily dangerous.”

She said it was “frankly luck” Moreno-Gama did not injure or kill anyone and that any family or community support he had did not stop him from trying to carry out his attacks against Altman.

“He planned for weeks to rent a car, to get a gun, to get ammunition, to drive from Texas to California, find Altman and his business, to purchase kerosene …” she said. “He wanted to kill them or to flush them out and kill them when they left the house.”

Trevisan also spoke about what she said was the defense’s refusal to provide the state with information about Moreno-Gama’s mental health, telling the judge that the majority of a doctor’s report they received was redacted or blacked out.

“We ask for any kind of information or any reports, they say, ‘No, we don’t have to give it to you.’ It is misleading,” she said.

However, in rebuttal, Ward said they provided what was necessary to the prosecution.

“We gave the people what we intended to use. He started seeing a psychiatrist in February of this year. More than one diagnosis. Anything more, they are not entitled to until we are 30 days out from trial,” she said.

Moreno-Gama is scheduled to appear next in state court on May 15 for a preliminary hearing.

He also faces federal charges of attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm.

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