The Hercules Police Department says a traffic stop in a Safeway parking lot led to the arrest of Gabriel Dejesus, a 45-year-old unhoused man, on suspicion of possessing five incendiary devices. The stop took place at about 8 p.m. Oct. 20 in the 4000 block of San Pablo Avenue. Police allege the devices were intended for use against a car at a Vallejo homeless encampment.
According to the Hercules Police Department, the officer stopped the vehicle over multiple vehicle-code infractions. The car was linked to Dejesus and a 53-year-old Vallejo woman, both of whom police said were on active searchable probation. The woman was on probation out of Yolo County, and Dejesus was on probation for a grand theft case out of Solano County.
What Police Say They Found
Police said the officer searched Dejesus’s backpack under the terms of his probation. They reported finding five glass bottles containing apparent flammable liquids, each with a rag running from the liquid to the outside of the bottle, a configuration police described as consistent with a Molotov cocktail. The backpack also contained a large fixed-blade knife with tape wrapped around its handle, according to the department.
Police also said Dejesus had a lighter, binoculars and about 4 grams of a suspected controlled substance.
Police Allege a Car Was the Intended Target
The department said investigators believed Dejesus intended to use the devices against a car belonging to his girlfriend’s new dating partner, who was reportedly staying at a Vallejo homeless encampment. The police account did not describe any injuries or property damage from an attack, or say whether the devices had been used.
A Separate California Case Involved an Attack on People
In a separate Anaheim case, prosecutors said Andrew Eric Mongerson allegedly threw an incendiary device at two men near a Katella Avenue bus stop on June 27, 2018; the device shattered nearby and burned. The incident, reported by the Los Angeles Times, involved an alleged attack on people, unlike the alleged plan in Hercules involving a car…