A doctor deemed insane at the time he vandalized and torched his San Carlos electronic cigarette business following a mental breakdown was sentenced Wednesday to time served and three years supervised probation.
Dr. Noah Mark Minskoff, 35, of Palo Alto, faced up to six months in jail after pleading no contest to unlawfully causing a fire. Yesterday, he received 94 days jail which is equal to the time he earned while awaiting trial in a residential treatment program. He can also have the felony reduced to a misdemeanor halfway through successful completion of probation.
Minskoff co-owned Thermo Essence Technologies in San Carlos and holds a patent for personal vaporizer inhalers. A court order barred him from having weapons but, in December 2012, deputies removed weapons from the scenes of two separate incidents at the San Carlos business. On Dec. 15, 2012, deputies reported finding $10,000 worth of vandalism to the building and the property burned. Deputies took Minskoff into custody for his bizarre behavior and confiscated a loaded gun.
Two days later, according to prosecutors, deputies again responded to the business and found it ransacked with the floor burned and Minskoff, who was at the scene, asked them if they were there seeking employment. They took him once more into psychiatric custody and searched the business with the co-owner. Inside, they reported finding four assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. They also reported finding a pair of brass knuckles in his car.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.