Man suspected of driving Prius into Big 5 set SLO High School computer lab on fire in 2016
The San Luis Obispo man who allegedly crashed his Prius into Big 5 Sporting Goods and stole seven guns was one of three men convicted of setting San Luis Obispo High School’s computer lab on fire in 2016, court records show.
Michael Benadiba was also convicted of shoplifting in 2019, along with two minor post-release community supervision violations in 2020. Post-release community supervision is essentially parole governed by the county instead of the state.
Police say Benadiba drove his Toyota Prius into the front of the store in the Marigold Center at around 2 a.m. Saturday. Officers found seven stolen rifles and ammunition still attached to a shelf and security cable in a field behind the store.
The 25-year-old is accused of stealing a pellet gun from the store the day before. Stolen license plates were also found on his Prius, police said, which had items from an unreported commercial robbery inside.
Benadiba was arrested around midnight Thursday, the San Luis Obispo Police Department said in a news release. He is suspected of seven felony counts of grand theft of a firearm, felony burglary, felon in possession of ammunition, felon in possession of a firearm, misdemeanor vandalism, misdemeanor obstructing a police officer and misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia.
Police are requesting additional charges against Benadiba for a commercial burglary that occurred on the 700 block of Fiero approximately two weeks ago. Benadiba is being held in SLO County Jail, bail set at $255,000.
Suspect in Big 5 heist previously set SLOHS on fire, court records show
Benadiba was 18 years old when he, Jacob Ruth and Cameron Bratcher were accused of setting the San Luis Obispo High School computer lab on fire on Dec. 8, 2016, causing $1.8 million in damage.
All three men were former students at the school. Ruth graduated and Bratcher withdrew in 2015, while Benadiba transferred to Pacific Beach High School. The San Luis Obispo Police Department said the three men were “disgruntled” former students unhappy with a specific teacher at the high school.
According to Tribune reporting at the time, the fire was the last incident in a series of escalating crimes committed by the three men, which included the fiery destruction of a school portable toilet, the burglary of a school concession stand, the theft of 17 tablet devices and the theft and destruction of a 3-D printer.
Both Ruth and Bratcher alleged in their court proceedings that it was Benadiba who started the computer lab fire, and neither of them knew it was coming.
A jury found Ruth guilty of two felony charges of burglary and one count of arson stemming from the burning of a portable toilet on the school campus a night before the computer lab fire. The jury could not agree on whether Ruth was guilty of the arson that destroyed the computer lab.
Ruth later pleaded no contest to a felony charge of arson of a structure relating to the computer lab fire in December 2017.
Bratcher initially faced felony charges of arson, conspiracy and being an accessory to a felony, but pleaded no contest to the felony accessory charge in exchange for the others being dismissed in December 2017.
Benadiba pleaded no contest to felony charges of recklessly causing a structure fire and second-degree commercial burglary in May 2018 in exchange for the dismissal of the arson and conspiracy charges. He was sentenced to five years of formal probation and 364 days in County Jail.
At his sentencing, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn Duffy told Benadiba to refrain from alcohol and stay out of trouble.
“You really have two paths you can go on,” Duffy told Benadiba in 2018. “I encourage you to choose the right one.”
But then in April 2019, court records show, Benadiba was charged with eight misdemeanor shoplifting charges.
Benadiba stole $162.85 in merchandise from the Cork n’ Bottle liquor store on four separate occasions, court records show, as well as $467.06 in goods from California Fresh Market in four separate incidents.
Court record show he pleaded no contest to one charge of shoplifting and was sentenced to 188 days in County Jail in July 2019, which he had already served by the time he was sentenced.
This story was originally published September 28, 2023 at 11:50 AM.
