"Goonan, 35, pleaded guilty to a single federal arson charge in January. A sentencing enhancement classified Goonan's crime spree as an act of terror. Goonan's attorneys said their client's actions were due in part to deteriorating mental health and asked for eight years or less of prison time. More so than prison, Goonan needs medication and mental health treatment, both things that can be achieved and monitored out of custody, San Francisco-based attorney Sarah Potter wrote in a Sept. 18 court filing. Her client, she wrote, is remorseful, has taken the situation seriously and recognizes the need for continued treatment to avoid any such episodes in the future."
"In a press release, U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian's office wrote that Goonan acknowledged that these attacks were inspired by Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, a characterization Goonan's legal team flatly denied. Casey's actions were inspired by [their] belief in Palestinian liberation and a demand to end the ongoing genocide supported by the U.S. Government, San Francisco-based attorney Jeff Wozniak wrote in an email responding to a Berkeleyside inquiry."
Casey R. Goonan admitted to five fires, including torching a University of California Police Department cruiser at Durant Avenue and Bowditch Street in Berkeley on June 1, 2023. Goonan admitted to firebombing a UC Berkeley police car in June 2024 and attempting to firebomb a federal building in Oakland later that month. Goonan pleaded guilty to a single federal arson charge in January and was sentenced to 235 months in prison. A sentencing enhancement classified the crime spree as an act of terror. Defense attorneys attributed actions in part to deteriorating mental health and sought eight years or less in prison while urging treatment and medication. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Goonan acknowledged inspiration from Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack, a characterization the defense denied and attributed to belief in Palestinian liberation. Goonan will serve 15 years of supervised release after imprisonment.
Read at www.berkeleyside.org
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