Posted on 03/17/2006 6:24:00 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Three eco-terrorists were sentenced Friday to federal prison for a series of firebombings that put towns in the Sierra foothills on edge.
Ryan Daniel Lewis, 22, the alleged leader of the group, was sentenced to six years, and two sisters - Eva Rose Holland, 26, and Lili Marie Holland, 21 - were each handed two-year prison terms.
Prosecutors alleged Lewis recruited the Holland sisters and Jeremiah Dean Colcleasure, 24, on Christmas Eve 2004 to help him burn down two unoccupied upscale homes in Lincoln, a Sacramento suburb, in the name of the Earth Liberation Front.
The FBI calls the ELF an eco-terrorist movement responsible for more than $100 million in damage since 1996.
The four set up incendiary devices in two homes, but the firebombs didn't ignite.
Lewis tried again on Jan. 12, 2005, planting five devices in a commercial building under construction in Auburn, northeast of Sacramento, which also didn't ignite. In a third attempt on Feb. 7, 2005, Lewis planted seven devices in an apartment complex in Sutter Creek, southeast of Sacramento, one of which caused $50,000 damage, prosecutors said. The other six were extinguished by a sprinkler system.
Lewis and the Holland sisters pleaded guilty in October, while Colcleasure pleaded guilty to attempted arson March 3 and is set for sentencing May 19.
Lewis was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to make $243,035 in restitution after pleading guilty to two counts of attempted arson and one count of arson.
The Hollands were each sentenced to two years in prison and fines of $2,000 for attempted arson.
Hope they enjoy prison life; really really enjoy prison life.
bump for publicity
The sentences seem way too light to me. Maximum sentences should be doled out to these type people to set an example.
Wow, good thing members of ALF are complete idiots - incompetent, useless, failures at life, pathetic, and overall mentally impaired. Kind of like all terrorists, especially suicide bombers.
Oh wait, never-mind, those things are probably requirements.
WOW.
The FBI calls the ELF an eco-terrorist movement responsible for more than $100 million in damage since 1996.
Can the dealership sue them in civil court for damages to the vehicles, or is prison time all they get?
Eco-terrorist Eva Holland (left) and Lili Holland (right) and their mother, Denise Barnes (center)
Jeremiah Dean Colcleasure...at 2555 Newcastle Road, Newcastle, CA. Also in attendance was Ryan Daniel Lewis.
On March 17, 2006, Eva and Lili Holland of Newcastle pleaded guilty to attempted arson in connection with planting incendiary devices at houses under construction in Placer County 15 months ago.
They were each sentenced to two years in federal prison for their roles in the December 24, 2004 incident at the Twin Bridges housing development in Lincoln.
Eva Holland had also been charged in the January 12, 2005 attempted arson of a business complex in Auburn. As part of the plea agreement with the government, prosecutors dropped that charge.
I imagine that they were insured; that should give the insurance company cause for civil action.
"Come here, boy, you got a real purty mouth!"
I can respect someone from acting in their beliefs, and this guy has put up alot then. Well, take it away!
Do you know if he earned it, or if it was given to him? I'm betting the latter. I'll pay if I lose.
They would burn your home with you and your family in the house.
Or me in mine.
Anybody worth anything that he/she earned wouldn't be so stupid as to risk it with criminal activity. I remember when I had nothing and criminal activity appealed to me. Now that I've put in quite a few years and save quite a few bucks, I couldn't imagine doing some of the things I would have done as a youngster. For me, a just cause is getting a concealed carry permit and blowing away a perp, and then telling you all about it!!!
There was an arsonist in Phoenix a few years ago that was torching high-end houses under construction near nature preserves. Got a dozen or so, if I recall right. When they caught him, where do you think he lived, but a half-million dollar house bordering on a preserve!
As they say, a developer is someone who wants to build a house in the woods, and an environmentalist is someone who already owns a house in the woods.
-ccm
Not enough time. They should have gotten three or four times as much time as they have.
No kidding. If their first name was Mohammed, they'd be doing some serious time, but since their cute white kids...
Thanks for the heads up and pictures. It will be hard to recruit new people now that the FBI has captured and convicted so many of those responsible for all of the mayhem caused over the last ten years.
I'd have no wish to end someone else's life. I don't know if I could even if I was fearing for my own. The option has never presented itself to me, and I hope it never does.
I would hope that I would. I would consciously put my life on the line to resist a totalitarian regime, to protect my loved ones, my comrads in arms (if I had any)and maybe to protect myself. I think the defense against a perp is a real-time decision that is either in you or it's not. Thankfully, I haven't been born into a totalitarian regime, and my loved ones haven't been put at immediate physical risk.
What do you think of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform? I think John has anger problems. He's been acting like a conservative lately, but I think that's just political positioning. I don't really like him, though I do respect his service to our country.
Oh, The Patriot and Braveheart are two of my fave movies. Haven't seen the Passion of Christ, but I would probably like it.
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