User:Icemoe/sandbox

Background

San Diego was born in 1978 in Berkeley, California and grew up in San Rafael, California. He attended Terra Linda High School. He took classes at College of Marin and worked at San Rafael High School's radio station, KSRH, listening to heavy metal and rock music. As a young man he gave up drugs, alcohol, meat, and milk products, taking an interest in the straight edge movement and becoming vegan.[1][2]

At the time of the bombings he lived in Schellville, California, a small community outside of Sonoma, where he worked as a computer specialist.[5][6] His landlord described him as "very nice and personable," mentioned his claim to be starting a new business venture of vegan marshmallows made without gelatin, and said that he had never given the impression of holding radical views on animal rights. The FBI claims this was all an act.[2]

San Diego is described as having ties to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) as a well-known San Francisco Bay Area animal rights activist. SHAC is an international campaign set up to close down Europe's largest animal testing laboratory, Huntingdon Life Sciences, a company that performs drug and chemical research experiments on animals.[7] Before the related bombings SHAC targeted HLS customer Chiron and its employees with a series of actions, accusing them of being "puppy killers."[1][7] Animal Liberation Brigade

On August 28, 2003, two sophisticated homemade bombs exploded approximately one hour apart, the second intended to target responding police officers and firefighters, at the Chiron Corporation in Emeryville, California, causing minor property damage but no injuries.[1][8] Another bomb, wrapped with nails to produce shrapnel, exploded on September 26, 2003 at the Shaklee Corporation in Pleasanton, California, again causing damage but no casualties.[9] The FBI believes this second bomb was timed to target first responders.[10] The bombs used ammonium nitrate explosives and mechanical timers.[11]

A group called the Revolutionary Cells – Animal Liberation Brigade claimed responsibility via an email message after each bombing.[3] FBI agents admit that they cannot prove San Diego has ties to the emails, but believe he has ties to the group that sent them.[2] The bombing targets were chosen because they were both clients of Huntingdon Life Sciences.[7] Disappearance

The agency had San Diego under 24 hour surveillance in 2003.[12] However, he discovered that he was being watched. On October 6, 2003 he parked his car in downtown San Francisco, California, walked away, and never returned.[2] Most Wanted

San Diego was profiled on America's Most Wanted six times after his disappearance.[2] In April, 2009, he was added to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists List, sparking a global search for the suspect in Germany, Britain, Costa Rica, France, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines, and Chile.[9][13] A reward of $250,000 has been offered by officials for information leading to his arrest, five times that of other animal rights activists.

In November of 2011, it was reported that San Diego could be hiding out in western Massachusetts, possibly Northampton.Italic text