A federal grand jury has indicted Jose Vicente Badillo on charges of conspiracy to commit arson, linked to a scheme targeting tow trucks across the San Francisco Bay Area in 2023. Badillo appeared in federal district court for the first time today.
The indictment reveals that Badillo, 29, from San Francisco, allegedly collaborated with others to set fire to at least six tow trucks over four incidents between April and October 2023. These incidents included two tow trucks set ablaze in San Francisco on April 4, one on April 29, another in East Palo Alto on July 25, and two more in San Francisco on October 3.
The purpose of this conspiracy was reportedly to benefit Auto Towing and Specialty Towing—two companies associated with Badillo—by harming competitors' business prospects and retaliating against them for perceived grievances. The indictment claims that Badillo orchestrated the plan and directed others to carry out the arson attacks.
Badillo is scheduled for his next court appearance on March 20, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim for arraignment and counsel identification. He also faces unrelated federal charges in two other pending cases.
Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani, and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Linda Nguyen announced the indictment.
"An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed," they stated. "All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." If convicted, Badillo could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing would follow consideration of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant federal statutes.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation aimed at dismantling high-level criminal networks through collaboration among various law enforcement agencies.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas M. Parker leads the prosecution with support from Andy Ding and Laurie Worthen. The investigation involves the FBI SF Transnational Organized Crime Task Force targeting organized crime syndicates involved in violent crimes like arson.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledged substantial assistance from the San Francisco Police Department during this investigation.