A UC Berkeley professor says a hidden camera he tucked inside Cory Hall captured a PhD candidate allegedly wrecking a fellow student’s computer, setting off sparks and a criminal case that is now in Alameda County court. According to police filings, the professor told investigators he had been grappling for years with mysterious lab equipment failures before finally planting a camera disguised as a department laptop to figure out who was behind it. Court documents say the recording is now key evidence in a case scheduled for a mid-December court date.
According to The Mercury News, police arrested 26-year-old Jiarui Zou on Nov. 12 and charged him with three felony counts of vandalism. Court filings reviewed by the outlet allege each incident involved more than $400 in damage and list a Dec. 15 first appearance. Authorities say Zou declined to speak with investigators and was not in custody at the time of the reporting.
An online profile for the Pilawa Power Electronics research group at UC Berkeley describes graduate projects on reconfigurable switched-capacitor converters, high-efficiency hybrid switched-capacitor converters, multi-level converters and power-management integrated circuits. According to the lab’s website, those are the same technical areas tied to the equipment that was allegedly damaged. The Pilawa group, based in Cory Hall, lists current PhD students and shows the kind of custom test rigs and power-electronics setups at stake in the case: Pilawa Power Electronics group.
What the recording allegedly showed
Police filings and the professor’s report state that the hidden camera – reportedly installed after the professor obtained permission from a building manager – recorded someone striking a student’s computer with an object, causing visible sparks. The professor told investigators that the cumulative cost of repairs and replacements over several years came to $46,855, and court documents describe three separate incidents of damage. Those details, along with the alleged video evidence, are outlined in filings cited by The Mercury News.
Legal status and next steps
Court records list three vandalism counts and an initial hearing set for Dec. 15, according to reporting by the East Bay Times. Prosecutors are expected to review the recording and related materials as the Alameda County case moves through arraignment and any preliminary hearings. For now, the charges are allegations only, and no criminal conviction has been entered.
Campus security and research fallout
The case underscores how fragile trust can be in research labs where pricey, custom-built gear is the backbone of students’ work. Faculty and departments often walk a tightrope between maintaining an open, collaborative environment and protecting hardware and data, and an incident like this can trigger fresh debates over access controls, inventory tracking and electronic monitoring. Academic processes and the criminal case are likely to move on parallel paths as people in the UC Berkeley community watch what happens next…