A member of a San Francisco coffee dynasty chased a Tesla security guard through a parking lot, repeatedly rammed his Land Rover into an occupied car, then led Fremont police on a wild chase in the wee hours of Thursday morning, according to police documents.
When police arrested Austin Hills, 45, hours later in downtown Napa, they found a metal pressure cooker, gas mask, DJI drone, extended shell casings, gas cans, and alcohol in his car, along with multiple cellphones and laptops, a probable-cause declaration shows.
Hills, of the Hills Bros. Coffee family, reportedly admitted to police that he drove the Land Rover but claimed that the security guard was driving “erratically.” He said the car he rammed had “blocked” him in. He said he couldn’t remember how he got to Fremont and had no recollection of being chased by police.
“Hills attributed his lack of memory to stress and showed no remorse for his actions,” the declaration reads.
Hills pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Monday morning in Alameda County Superior Court. He is being held on $75,000 bail. The Standard was unable to identify Hills’ attorney.
Hills faces two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of evading an officer with willful disregard for safety.
According to the criminal complaint, filed Monday by Deputy District Attorney Briggitte Lowe, Hills on Thursday used a vehicle as a weapon in assaults against two individuals, security guard John Reynaga and Wafah Wazwaz.
Reynaga declined to comment. Wazwaz could not be reached for comment.
The complaint also alleges that Hills evaded police while operating a motor vehicle “with willful wanton disregard for the safety of persons and property.” The charges specify that Hills fled from a pursuing officer’s vehicle that was displaying emergency lights and sounding its siren.
Prosecutors have filed several enhancement allegations that could increase potential penalties, including claims that the crimes involved “great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm, or other acts disclosing high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness.”
The complaint says Hills was previously convicted of unlawful firearm activity in March 2019 in San Francisco County and received probation.
If convicted on the current charges, Hills faces a potential state prison sentence. Assault with a deadly weapon is a felony under California law.
On the day Hills was arrested, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a rogue Tesla that appeared to belong to his family had been left abandoned in Alta Plaza Park. Hills had a Tesla key fob on his person at the time of his arrest.
The Standard previously reported that in 2022, Hills tried to run for San Francisco district attorney — only to discover that he wasn’t eligible because he isn’t an attorney. He ran for president in 2016.
The Hills family — originally shipbuilders from New England — began selling coffee and tea in a store on Harrison Street in the late 1800s. A family member later invented vacuum-packing, which is still the most popular method of packaging coffee, according to the Hills Bros. website.
Nestle purchased Hills Bros. in 1985 for an undisclosed amount.
Hills’ father is the cofounder of Grgich Hills Estate, a popular winery in Napa Valley with a stop on the Napa Valley Wine Train.
A Yelp listing says Hills founded SF Supercars, which a now-dormant website described as “northern California’s only ultra-exotic car rental company.”
Last week, Hills apparently visited SoMa’s Gold Club, a strip club known for its $5 fried chicken buffet. A Google account associated with his email address left a one-star review.