A search is underway for an unidentified young woman who called to request a late checkout for the suspect in the OpenAI firebomb attack in April, and the SFPD thinks she may be a co-conspirator.
Investigators with the San Francisco Police Department are looking into whether Daniel Moreno-Gama, the Texas man accused of firebombing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Russian Hill home, may have had help, as the Chronicle reports.
Based on records recently obtained by the outlet, police are reportedly trying to identify a young woman who called the Union Square Plaza Hotel on April 8 to request a late checkout for Moreno-Gama, who had checked into the hotel two days prior — he checked back in April 9 before the April 10 attack. This led police to consider the possibility that Moreno-Gama was coordinating with another person.
As SFist reported previously, Moreno-Gama, who pleaded not guilty in the attack, was captured on surveillance video throwing a Molotov cocktail at the exterior gate of Altman’s home. Shortly after, Moreno-Gama was arrested after attempting to break into OpenAI's Mission Bay headquarters while holding a jug of kerosene.
According to the Chronicle, the records also reportedly show that Moreno-Gama spent the night of April 8 in Redding, at a La Quinta Inn, before checking back into the Union Square Plaza Hotel the next day. Authorities have not said why Moreno-Gama made the trip to Redding or what he did while there.
Two days after the firebombing, police were reportedly called back to the Union Square Plaza Hotel after a housekeeper discovered a firearm in a room registered to Moreno-Gama.
Moreno-Gama is due in court next month and remains in custody while facing separate state and federal prosecutions, as previously reported. His attorneys are seeking mental-health diversion in the state case, where he has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and attempted arson charges, while federal explosives and firearms charges are also pending.
Previously: 20-Year-Old Texas Man Accused of Firebombing Sam Altman's House Enters Not Guilty Plea