An animal rights extremist accused of carrying out two California bombings in 2003 was arrested in the UK after being on the run for more than twenty years.
Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was arrested Monday in a rural area of north Wales, the National Crime Agency said on Tuesday. San Diego was one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, with officials offering a $250,000 reward for information on him.
Investigators say San Diego planted two bombs that exploded about an hour apart on August 28, 2003, on the campus of a biotechnology company in Emeryville, California. He's also accused of setting off another bomb police say was “strapped with nails” at a nutritional products company in Pleasanton, California, a month later.
The bombings didn't injure anyone, but authorities said the biotechnology bomb was intended to harm first responders.
Police believe San Diego bombed the firms because they worked with another organization that had conducted experiments on animals, according to NBC. The FBI says the 46-year-old is a vegan who worked as a computer network specialist and has owned a handgun.
"Daniel San Diego's arrest after more than 20 years as a fugitive for two bombings in the San Francisco area shows that no matter how long it takes, the FBI will find you and hold you accountable," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
"There's a right way and a wrong way to express your views in our country, and turning to violence and destruction of property is not the right way,” he added.
San Diego is in custody after making his first court appearance in Westminster Magistrates' Court to face extradition.
Additional reporting from AP.
