Albuquerque man accused of throwing Molotov at neighbor’s home

An Albuquerque man with a history of run-ins with his neighbors has been charged federally with throwing a homemade firebomb at a neighbor’s home, an attack captured on security camera. Jonathan Griego faces federal charges of arson, dangerous use of explosives and criminal damage to property, and a judge has ordered him held in jail pending trial.

The neighbor told Albuquerque police she heard a boom, went outside and saw Griego appearing to prepare to throw another bottle before appearing to catch fire himself. Griego was later arrested after an hour-long SWAT standoff.

Court records show prior trouble between Griego and his neighbors. In February, a neighbor at his former apartment complex accused him of shooting her dog in the face with a BB gun; the dog survived, and animal cruelty charges were dropped after a witness refused to appear in court. In 2021, Griego pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a neighbor’s cat in front of his three-year-old son and was sentenced to a year of probation.

Federal prosecutors say Griego threw the Molotov cocktail at his neighbor’s window. The trial date has not been set. If convicted on the arson charge, Griego faces a minimum of five years in prison.