(KRON) — A San Jose engineer who pleaded guilty to bombing two PG&E electrical transformers in late 2022 and early 2023 was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday. Prosecutors said Peter Karasev, 39, used homemade explosives to cause over $200,000 in damages and disrupted power to over 1,500 households in San Jose.
Karasev admitted in a plea deal on April 29 that the bombings were premeditated, deliberate and extensively researched. Before the attacks, he made internet searches regarding explosive materials, infrastructure attacks and geopolitical conflicts, according to the DOJ.
In addition to 10 years in prison, Karasev was ordered to pay $214,880.67 in restitution. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.
On Dec. 8, 2022, Karasev bombed 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. Surveillance cameras caught Karasev riding his bicycle to and from the bombing sites, the San Jose Police Department said…