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Markus Beck (Gilroy Police Department) and the home he allegedly rigged to explode (KNTV screenshot)
A 46-year-old man in California has been arrested after going on a crime spree that included causing two drunken driving crashes with a loaded handgun in the car and an assault rifle in his trunk, then booby-trapping his home, rigging the house to explode via a cellphone trigger.
Markus Beck was taken into custody last week and charged with driving under the influence, hit-and-run and illegal storage of firearms, authorities announced.
According to a press release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, officers with the Gilroy Police Department at about 4:24 a.m. on Feb. 28 responded to reports of a hit-and-run crash in the area of Mantelli Drive and Wren Avenue, about 80 miles southeast of San Francisco.
When first responders arrived at the scene, it appeared that the driver had crashed into numerous parked cars before fleeing. A short while later, officers responded to another location near the initial crash site, where another car had been sideswiped by a man driving a BMW. Police said that a witness at the scene led them to the BMW that allegedly caused the crash.
Officers approached the vehicle and found the suspect — later identified as Beck — sitting in the driver’s seat with a loaded gun at his feet. Beck was placed under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence. Officers conducted a search of his vehicle and recovered a loaded AR15-style assault rifle in the trunk, the release states.
Police said that the drunken driving incident was the second time they had encountered Beck in the last week.
According to a report from San Jose NBC affiliate KNTV, Beck had walked into Luigi Aprea Elementary School without authorization and demanded to speak with a female he believed worked in the building two days before his arrest. School staffers told Beck that he had to leave the campus immediately, but he allegedly continued to loiter on and around school property until administrators were forced to call the police, who directed Beck to stay away from the elementary school.
Due to both incidents happening in such proximity, police obtained a gun violence restraining order and responded to his home later in the day to temporarily seize any firearms and ammunition in his possession. However, upon arriving at Beck’s home in the 9200 block of Mockingbird Lane, the officers became suddenly “nauseated by the smell of gas.”
“The oven unlit burners were on high,” prosecutors said. “Firefighters turned the gas off, and investigators found numerous cellphones strewn around the home, in a possible attempt to remotely ignite a fire.”
Authorities said Beck had also plugged the chimneys and fireplace in the home, in addition to the gas and phones.
“I am so thankful that the Gilroy police stopped this incredibly dangerous behavior before anyone was badly hurt or killed,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “We will hold this defendant accountable for the damage and dangerous behavior. The Gilroy community is shaken, and we are there to help.”
Beck is held in the Elmwood Men’s Jail without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court for a plea hearing on April 10.
