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Sentence in firebombing case
By Chantal Lamers
Victor Quintin Podbreger, the 20-year-old convicted in the Aug. 1 firebombing of the Willow Glen home of Santa Clara County Judge Jack Komar, was sentenced to eight years and eight months in state prison on May 1.
Podbreger was charged with felony arson and a hate crime. He was tried by a San Mateo County Court Judge after Santa Clara County judges recused themselves to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Karyn Sinunu said Podbreger pleaded guilty to the charges in January with the understanding he would serve no more than eight years and eight months in prison. Podbreger, the father of an infant son, was charged with one count of arson and two counts of possession of a Molotov cocktail. All three charges included hate-crime enhancement, Sinunu said.
Two juveniles were also arrested. The three said they attacked the home of Komar because they believed he was Jewish. Komar converted to Roman Catholicism when he was 25.
San Jose Police described the trio as white supremacists. Neighbors on Laurie Avenue, where one of the suspects lived, reported that a group of young adults often hung out at an old garage on the street. Neighbors said they could see swastikas inside the garage. The young men often wore T-shirts with white supremacist sayings, neighbors told the Willow Glen Resident.
The three were taken into custody after one of them called 911 to report the fire on Komar's porch. Police said the trio planned to report the fire and blame someone else.
The two juveniles were 17 years old. Police said the juveniles, one a Broadway High School student and the other a San Jose High School student, frequented white supremacist Internet sites on school computers. Police say they found white supremacist literature at the house on Laurie Avenue. The juveniles were not tried as adults.
Santa Cruz Metro reporter Jessica Lyons contributed to this story.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
