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SoCal man arrested in $1 million arson fires at SUV dealerships
KCBS News ^
| Saturday September 13, 2003
Posted on 09/12/2003 11:09:01 PM PDT by Partisan Hack
WEST COVINA, Calif. (AP) A 25-year-old man was arrested Friday by FBI agents for investigation of arson and vandalism that caused $1 million in damages last month at a Hummer dealership, police said.
Joshua Thomas Connole, of Pomona, was arrested at home about 12:30 a.m., said Cpl. Rudy Lopez, a West Covina police spokesman.
Fires that broke out Aug. 22 gutted a parts warehouse and destroyed 20 Hummer H2 sport utility vehicles at a West Covina dealership. Another 20 Hummers and several Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs were significantly damaged by fire and spray-painting.
Three other dealerships and at least four privately owned vehicles in the area also were damaged during the vandalism spree.
Words such as ``ELF,'' ``Fat, Lazy Americans'' and ``I (heart) pollution'' were painted on the SUVs. ``ELF'' stands for Earth Liberation Front, a loose association of militant environmentalists. The group, which previously has taken responsibility for other acts of arson and vandalism, claimed in an unsigned e-mail that the SUV fires were ``ELF actions.''
Lopez said it had not been determined whether Connole belonged to the group.
Connole was booked for investigation of felony arson and vandalism, Lopez said. He was being held at the West Covina Police Department with bail set at $825,000. Arraignment was set for Monday.
Lopez said the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were continuing an investigation of federal crimes, which would be added to Connole's state crimes charges.
The FBI after the arson and vandalism spree released surveillance video from a Ford dealership in Duarte that showed two young men spray-painting SUVS.
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; US: California
KEYWORDS: atf; captured; ecoterrorism; elf; environment; fbi; suv
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To: Sir Gawain
Where is Henry Bowman when you need him.
Time to feed the hogs.
2
posted on
09/12/2003 11:16:46 PM PDT
by
DCBryan1
To: Partisan Hack
YES! LET ME STOMP HIM!
3
posted on
09/12/2003 11:18:07 PM PDT
by
Tony in Hawaii
(Actually Tarzana CA)
To: Tony in Hawaii
Can we sell tickets and put the A** whupping on Pay Per View?
To: CARepubGal
I'm actually a gentle and loveable guy, but...
ME STOMP!!!
ME WANNA STOMP!!!
5
posted on
09/12/2003 11:23:56 PM PDT
by
Tony in Hawaii
(Actually Tarzana CA)
To: Partisan Hack
Glad they got the bad guy ... even a lifetime of work for this guy wont make up for $1 million in damage he's done. This is homegrown terrorism, so I hope he pays dearly.
6
posted on
09/12/2003 11:25:11 PM PDT
by
WOSG
(Dont put Cali on CRUZ CONTROL.)
To: Partisan Hack
Thank God we busted one of them. Perhaps they can turn him so he turns in other members of ELF.
To: Partisan Hack
I hope he's one of the punk terrorists. Their mega-million dollar vandalism has to stop.
8
posted on
09/12/2003 11:26:34 PM PDT
by
onyx
To: Tony in Hawaii
Yup. And there are plenty of SUV owners who would agree. Hippies make me want to do some Stomping too.
To: Coeur de Lion
Ship this guy to gitmo and get info out of him. I'm sure this panty boy would squeal so bad.
10
posted on
09/12/2003 11:29:50 PM PDT
by
Monty22
To: Partisan Hack
Most excellent... :-)
11
posted on
09/12/2003 11:30:17 PM PDT
by
tubebender
(FReeRepublic...How bad have you got it...)
To: CARepubGal
You signed up for FR on 9/11/01? Wow. The most productive thing I did that day was pace around and chain-smoke.
To: Partisan Hack
I think he should be defaced, spray painted and firebombed.
13
posted on
09/12/2003 11:38:03 PM PDT
by
T'wit
(What you expect when expecting is a baby. You were expecting a blob of "tissue"?)
To: Coeur de Lion
We are going to work on this "boy" - lawyers or not - I would hate to walk a mile in his future shoes ... nice work troops and thank you!
14
posted on
09/12/2003 11:42:20 PM PDT
by
Bobibutu
To: Partisan Hack
A 25-year-old man was arrested Friday by FBI agents for investigation of arson and vandalism that caused $1 million in damages last month at a Hummer dealership, police said. 25? My guess - he IS an ELF member.
A teen may just do it to appear "cool" for his friends, but a 25 year old man knows exactly what he's doing.
Throw the book at him. Charge him with domestic terrorism.
15
posted on
09/12/2003 11:45:23 PM PDT
by
concerned about politics
(Lucifers lefties are still stuck at the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy)
To: Tony in Hawaii
I was sort of stunned and having found the site a few days earlier, figured it was as good a time as any to sign up, I still get choked up at the sight of the NYC skyline. Never paid much attention to the towers but the lack of such is heartbreaking.
To: Partisan Hack
Hows about we drag him behind a Hummer.
17
posted on
09/12/2003 11:50:27 PM PDT
by
Shmokey
(Always be prepared)
To: concerned about politics
"Charge him with domestic terrorism"
This will take a while to wind out - Aschroft will let this b*stard twist in the wind. He will find out what domestic terrorism means.
Personally - I would do the guys feet soles with cables - but we are above that here. ":^)
18
posted on
09/12/2003 11:52:57 PM PDT
by
Bobibutu
To: Partisan Hack
Is this the 25yo male perp, or a galpal accomplice?
To: Partisan Hack; All
A visit to
ELF's website seems to indicate that they are quite unrepentent. As of this writing, they have an initial splash page that features a photo of a burnt SUV and a caption that says "Every Night is Earth Night. This may change as the site gets more attention.
20
posted on
09/13/2003 2:28:26 AM PDT
by
SpaceBar
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