After a California man tossed a Molotov cocktail at police, he tried to resist arrest. However, he quickly discovered that was a bad idea.

Cassidy Russ drew the attention of Corning Police after loud banging was heard coming from outside the department. (Photo Credit: Corning Police Department)

Cassidy Russ, a 32-year-old man, drew the attention of police in Corning, California — about three hours northeast of San Francisco — after officers said they heard loud banging coming from outside of the police department on the 700 block of Third Street just after 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday evening. When officers went to investigate the source of the noise, they said they saw Russ walking away from the police department toward Solano Street.

According to KRCR-TV, officers reportedly attempted to communicate with Russ, but it quickly became obvious to the officers that he was up to no good when he was spotted fumbling with an item near his waistband while walking away and ignoring the cops, the police said. Then, as he disregarded verbal commands from officers, Russ lit what was later determined to be a Molotov cocktail and threw it toward an officer before attempting to run away, sprinting west on Solano Street, The Blaze reported.

“A Molotov cocktail is a homemade bomb made from a bottle filled with gasoline and stuffed with a piece of cloth that is lit just before the bottle is thrown,” Fox News explained.

Cassidy Russ allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at police. (Stock image for visual representation only, Photo Credit: Screenshot)

Thankfully, the explosive missed the police officer, but it blew up near a parked vehicle. It resulted in a fire, according to a press release from police, and a local business owner had to put it out.

“The local business owner had to move his parked vehicle where the explosion occurred and extinguish the fire,” Corning police Chief Jeremiah Fears said.

As for Russ, who fled on foot, the police weren’t about to let him get away. Instead, as Cassidy Russ attempted to flee, officers chased the suspect both on foot and in a patrol car before an off-duty officer finally caught up with him. The off-duty officer tacked Russ, but the suspect continued to resist arrest, concealing his hands in his waistband and backpack, police said. The police used baton strikes and “pain-compliance techniques” in an attempt to subdue Russ, but he continued to violently resist arrest. However, his efforts were all in vain.

“Officers were eventually able to take Russ into custody by placing him in handcuffs under sustained resistance,” the Corning Police Department press release read, in part.

Corning Police Department (Photo Credit: Google Maps)

Cassidy Russ was eventually transported and booked into the Tehama County Jail on several charges, including attempted murder, possession of an explosive device, arson, battery on a peace officer, and resisting arrest. He was ordered held without bail, according to a report by Yahoo! News.

“Tehama County Probation deemed (Cassidy) Russ as a high risk suspect considering the circumstances of his arrest, and the judge ordered him held without bail,” said Tehama County Assistant District Attorney James Waugh.

During his arraignment, Russ was charged on suspicion of felony attempted murder of a peace officer, two counts of possession of an exploding or igniting destructive device, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, obstruct/resist executive officer, and arson possession of a manufactured destructive device. He was assigned a public defender.

Cassidy Russ (Photo Credit: Tehama County District Attorney’s Office)

Sadly, this wasn’t Cassidy Russ’s first run-in with police nor was it his first time allegedly attempting to use a Molotov cocktail against them. According to police, at the time of this arrest, Russ had an active arrest warrant for a previous incident that occurred just months prior, where he threw a Molotov cocktail near a staging area for marked patrol cars.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and it’s safe to say Cassidy Russ’s mugshot indicates he learned a painful lesson about playing with fire. If you play with fire, you’re gonna get burned. And, if you resist arrest, you’re gonna get “pain-compliance techniques.”