A San Jose engineer has been ordered to serve a decade behind bars after admitting to bombing PG&E transformers that knocked out local power and caused substantial damage.
Federal authorities announced that Peter Karasev, 39, of San Jose, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for two counts of willful destruction of an energy facility tied to separate attacks on electrical transformers in late 2022 and early 2023. The case drew attention because the blasts caused extended outages and hit households that rely on electricity for medical devices. U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman imposed the prison term and additional penalties as part of the federal sentence.
Investigators say Karasev used homemade explosive devices to strike PG&E equipment on Dec. 8, 2022, and Jan. 5, 2023. Officials reported that the bombings produced more than $200,000 in damage to local businesses and interrupted service to over 1,500 households in the San Jose area. Those outages included 15 households listed in PG&E’s Medical Baseline Program, people who need reliable electrical power for life-sustaining medical equipment.
The court ordered Karasev to pay $214,880.67 in restitution and imposed a $200 special assessment in addition to three years of supervised release following his prison term. He was immediately remanded to federal custody to begin serving the sentence. Prosecutors emphasized the seriousness of attacks that target energy infrastructure and the ripple effects such crimes have on public safety and commerce.
“Karasev’s specialized knowledge in explosives, the vast quantity of bombmaking materials discovered in his home, and his readiness to deploy both against our Nation’s energy infrastructure made him a very dangerous individual who posed a significant risk to public safety,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The National Security Division is committed to prosecuting attacks on critical infrastructure to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to court filings, Karasev conceded that the attacks were planned and deliberate. He admitted to conducting extensive internet searches about explosive materials, infrastructure attacks, and geopolitical conflicts before carrying out the incidents. Authorities recovered a sizable cache of bombmaking materials at his residence, which prosecutors highlighted when arguing for a strict sentence.
U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California said, “Karasev’s attacks on critical infrastructure were direct threats to public safety and national security.” He added that the defendant aimed to inflict widespread disruption and harm, and that law enforcement would pursue accountability for those actions. The statement stressed a firm commitment to protecting residents and keeping violent extremists and saboteurs from causing further damage.
Karasev pleaded guilty on April 29 to the two federal counts alleging willful destruction of an energy facility. He admitted to intentionally damaging facilities tied to the production, storage, transmission, and distribution of electricity on the dates cited by prosecutors. The Jan. 5, 2023, blast was reportedly recorded by nearby surveillance cameras, providing investigators with evidence of the explosion and its immediate effects.
“This defendant admitted to attacking critical infrastructure, which could have harmed people in the San Jose, California community, and he will now face the consequences of his actions,” said Assistant Director Donald Holstead of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “This individual conducted research and prepared homemade explosives, which knocked out power to multiple homes and caused more than $200,000 in property damage to local businesses. The FBI will work with our partners to identify and hold accountable those who engage in such dangerous and illegal acts.”
One of the explosions occurred near the Plaza Del Ray shopping center on Snell Avenue and was captured on nearby surveillance footage, according to reporting from officials. That footage helped tie the incident to the devices and the locations affected by the outages. Local business owners and residents reported interruptions and costs tied to the damage while first responders and utility crews responded to secure the sites and restore service.
The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The investigation that led to the charges and guilty pleas involved the FBI and the San Jose Police Department working in coordination. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne C. Hsieh led the courtroom effort for the government, reflecting a multiagency push to address attacks on critical infrastructure.
