Concord man gets 18 years in prison for arson conspiracy
SAN FRANCISCO — A district court judge sentenced a 47-year-old Concord man found guilty of a scheme to firebomb residences and offices of his enemies to an 18-year prison sentence, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.
Officials said their agencies would always work to prevent the criminal acts that led to U.S. District Judge William Alsup’s ruling against David Jah, “When Mr. Jah was unable to achieve his objectives in court, he turned to violence,” acting United States Attorney Stephanie Hinds said in part. “That is never acceptable.”
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent-in-Charge Patrick Gorman and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent-in-Charge Craig Fair backed Hinds’ statement with their own.
“This sentencing will undoubtedly send a message to anyone who considers conducting these types of violent acts that they will not be tolerated,” Gorman said in part. “ATF will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to ensure crimes of this nature are investigated and prosecuted.”
“David Jah conspired to use extreme levels of violence to intimidate and retaliate against his perceived enemies,” Fair said. “Thanks to the collaboration between the FBI, ATF, and our local law enforcement partners, we were able to put a stop to these violent attacks.”
Evidence presented at trial said Jah met and gave his list to Alexis-Clark, who looped Williams in to join him in attacks on three list members’ homes. Jah offered the men $800 to $5,000 for the attacks, including one Oct. 21, 2018 where the two mistakenly set the living room of one target’s next-door neighbor on fire by throwing a lit Molotov cocktail through a front window.
After an Oct. 31 meeting at a Pacheco casino, the men struck again, targeting a pair of Bay Area probate lawyers who had been working to have him and other family members removed from his childhood home in San Francisco’s Richmond District in advance of its sale.
The attorneys’ homes were damaged in Molotov-cocktail attacks Nov. 3, 2018, but no residents were hurt. Evidence, including automated license-plate reader camera footage, led officials to question Alexis-Clark, who told S.F. police that he was the driver but didn’t throw anything.
In addition to a jury hearing about two other Molotov-cocktail attacks against list members, the government asked the court to weigh evidence of four other arson attacks and two drive-by shootings that happened from March 2016 to November 2018, and that Jah tried to intimidate co-defendants into offering untrue testimony and signing an affidavit denying any conspiracy.
After an October 2020 superseding indictment charging Jah with a count of conspiracy to commit arson, a jury found Jah guilty after a weeklong trial in May.
Jah, who has been in federal custody since January 2019, also received a three-year supervised released term from the judge and will begin serving his prison term immediately. Alexis-Clark and Williams have pleaded guilty to crimes in connection with the scheme, but have yet to be sentenced.
Investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with help from the Danville, Lafayette, San Francisco and Vallejo police departments, led to case prosecution by assistant U.S. attorney Michael Rodriguez.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.