Posted on 08/09/2005 6:26:45 PM PDT by RandallFlagg
DENVER - Denver police say a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force has admitted to vandalizing cars bearing pro-President Bush bumper stickers at Denver International Airport.
Police say he's responsible for thousands of dollars in damage on at least 12 cars. Lt. Colonel Alexis Fecteau, 42, of Colorado Springs, turned himself in to Denver police Friday.
He is director of reserve operations at the National Security Space Institute in Colorado Springs, in charge of more than 40 full-time and traditional reservists.
In the arrest affidavit, Denver police say Fecteau admitted to damaging several cars after police conducted a sting-operation to catch the anti-Bush vandal.
"It was pretty good police work," said Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson. He said his department took this case very seriously. "You still have a right to express yourself in this country and you shouldn't have your car vandalized because of it."
Jackson said one of the detectives put out a bait car in late June, complete with a Bush/Cheney 2004 bumper sticker, in the west economy lot at DIA. On July 1st, with a security camera zoomed in to watch, an SUV drove by the bait car, and a short time later a man entered the scene. The man in the video appeared to spray paint something on the back of the car and then continued to do something on the side of the car.
When officers returned to the bait car, the bumper sticker had been painted over and the words "F--- Bush" were spray-painted on the side of the car.
Police used airport exit logs to trace the license plate of the SUV believed to be seen in the bait car surveillance video to Fecteau.
When Fecteau's SUV was spotted parked in the DIA lot on a subsequent visit, police impounded it. When Fecteau approached police about the whereabouts of his SUV, a DPD detective confronted him. Court records show that at that time, Fecteau admitted to the DIA vandalism and said he started damaging vehicles around "election time" last year.
The affidavit shows Fecteau told investigators he didn't mean the graffiti to be a threat against President Bush. He went on to admit he has scratched the same kind of graffiti into "a couple of cars" with his "keys and key holder."
Inside Fecteau's 2001 Ford Excursion, police found a bin full of products, including a tube of Park Tube Polylube, a grease used for bicycle repairs, a spray can of Kleen Strip Auto Strip paint thinner, and Krylon Textured Shimmer paint.
Fecteau faces one count of felony criminal mischief and at least five other misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief. Fecteau has posted a $5,000 bond and is due back in court later this month.
Air Force spokesperson Major Barbara Matthew told 9News in a phone interview Monday the service hasn't taken action against Fecteau in regards to the vandalism. Instead, Matthew said, the Air Force plans to allow due process through local law enforcement. Calls to Fecteau's work and home were not returned.
One of the vandalized cars belongs to Jeremy Kinney, owner of Kinney Oil Co. of Denver. Kinney is a long-time friend of President George W. Bush. The two attended Yale together in the 1960s and have remained friends ever since.
"You feel violated in a sense when something like this happens, but it was more disappointment than anger," said Kinney, who worked on both of George W. Bush's presidential campaigns.
Kinney had a "Bush for President" bumper sticker stuck on a tool-box located on his 1992 Ford truck. When he returned from a flight on June 19, he noticed the bumper sticker had been painted over and the words "F--- Bush" were painted on the side of the car.
It cost Kinney more than $250 to fix the damage. But, he said, there is a larger price to pay for this kind of vandalism.
"It just reinforced to me the lack of political discourse that takes place in this country, polite political discourse," Kinney said.
"There is so much anger in politics that I find it not only counter-productive but annoying and disappointing."
Seeing something like this makes you wish you could legally carry a LAWS rocket.
The left doesn't believe in private property, because they're all a bunch of damned commies.
Alexis Fecteau sounds like a light-in-the-loafers name to me.
I'm thinking dishonorable discharge - not to bright for a Lt. Col.
Bone smuggler?
How stupid and juvenile can you get. And, an AIR FORCE officer at that. The fly-boys are supposed to be the cream of the crop in intelligence in the military.
He's French.
Becki
I guess that guy covered up his Mondale/Ferraro stickers with John Kerry Stickers.
According to google, his phone number is (719) 528-8084.
Call him him up and tell him how you feel.
He's got a pretty big house. I wonder if he'll be able to pay for it when he's flipping burgers.
This is similar in concept to a case I served on a military "court" for, back in the day. That was an airman who pleaded guilty to what would have been a minor crime in the civilian world, a no jail time, suspended sentence, sort of thing, but which carried some heavy penalties on the military side upon conviction (or a guilty plea).
We could have recommended a dishonorable, but felt the kid had learned his lesson by then, and for the good of the service decided to recommended the minimum penalty with the dishonorable discharge being suspended. AFAIK, the Airman, who worked in the pharmacy of the base hospital, successfully completed his enlistment with no more trouble.
I do not expect this Lt. Col. to get off so easily. Partly because "times have changed" and partly because as a Lt. Col. he is to be held to a higher standard than a 19 or 20 year old Airman.
Very easy, assuming he doesn't plead down to a much lessor charge in the civilian court. A full court martial will not even be required, as punishment on the military side will only require conviction in civilian court. Way beyond an open and shut case. More a matter of an an administrative hearing before a board of officers, smaller than a full military court.
There. That's better.
That page is about an Army Patriot unit, not an Air Force unit. The Air Force doesn't operate the Patriot or other SAMS (the Luftwaffe does however) and they, the Air Force, also don't have battalions, they have Flights, Squadrons, Groups and Wings.
Read again. Since the offense did not occur on base, or while was on duty, the Air Force does not have primary jurisdiction. However after the civilian courts finish with him, assuming he comes out with a conviction or guilty plea, then the Military Justice system will get his ass, and the only thing that need be put in evidence is that civilian court conviction. The Convining Authority, probably the Regular USAF commander of the unit, will be advised as to punishment by a board of officers, who will only have so much leeway in the sentence they recommned. IIRC, they will have to recommend a dishonorable discharge, but they could also recommend that the sentence be suspended, pending restitution and possible other punishment (reduction in rank, loss of pay, etc). I predict it won't be a mere slap on the wrist, although it might not go all the way to loss of pension, not that a Reservist's pension is all that much anyway, depending on how many years, if any, he served on active duty before becoming a reservist.
NSSI/DO
Phone: (719) 593-8794 x203
Alt Phone: Toll Free (866) 767-7287 x203
Email: nssido@schriever.af.mil
The Director of the Air Force Reserve would be the person who coordinates the activities of the reservist members of the NSSI, especially the part time "true" reservists.
If he's 42, he likely came in a bit later than that. If he was 21 when commissioned, which is typical for ROTC and AFA, then he would have come in in 1984. Still before the time of the 'toon. However, only 20 or 21 years of service, some part of it as a reservist, and a Lt. Col. actually is a bit ahead of the zone, depending on how much of it was as a reservist, how much as a pure reservist and how much of it as a full time reservist.
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