A 32-year-old Los Gatos man has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies after Campbell police last week found him prowling outside of a business and then found a stash of weapons and a racist manifesto in his vehicle, Santa Clara County prosecutors said Thursday.
Wesley Charles Martines was arraigned Tuesday on the charges, which include possession of assault weapons, silencers, drugs and pipe bomb parts, according to the District Attorney's Martines was arrested after the owner of a business called Campbell police last Friday shortly after midnight to report that he could see a man on his security camera looking into cars and a storage shed in the area of East Sunnyoaks Avenue, prosecutors said.
Officers responded and stopped a truck Martines was driving and found two AR-style rifles inside along with a Glock 9mm handgun and ammunition that had inscriptions on it like "Cop Killer," "To a widow from the Grim Reaper" and "A Good Start," as well as body armor, heroin and methamphetamine.
Prosecutors said a pipe bomb filled with pellets but no explosive materials was also found, along with a journal that had racist and anti-Semitic writings and a plan to go to a sporting goods store, dress up as an employee and tie everyone up inside.
Farukh Mamedov, the Revv Auto Sales owner who called police, on Thursday said he had no idea his call may have prevented another South Bay mass tragedy.
"I'm shocked," he said. "I'm shocked because I thought it was just someone -- we get people here all the time, they steal little things, parts of cars. I'm kind of glad he's off the streets."
At his arraignment Tuesday, a judge ordered Martines be held in custody on $300,000 bail.
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"Once again, law enforcement saved lives before the blood and tears flowed," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a news release. "All of us have a role in stopping the next mass shooting, suicide, or domestic violence murder. Please call law enforcement if you know that someone is armed and dangerous."
Meanwhile, police said they are now scouring Martines' computers and other electronics to determine a motive and any possible targets the suspect may have had in mind.
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Martines has also gone back and forth about granting NBC Bay Area a jailhouse interview -- first agreeing, then changing his mind. NBC Bay Area also spoke to roughly 10 of Martines' neighbors in Los Gatos on Thursday. All neighbors said they were shocked, but declined to provide further comment.
