Calif. Man Nabbed in SUV Dealership Fire

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-09-14 01:26am

WEST COVINA, Calif. - Federal agents arrested a 25-year-old member of a co-op dedicated to peace and environmentalism in connection with arson fires and vandalism that did $1 million in damage to a Hummer dealership.

Joshua Thomas Connole, of Pomona, was arrested at home Friday, said Cpl. Rudy Lopez, a West Covina police spokesman. He was booked for investigation of felony arson and vandalism and jailed $825,000 bail.

The fires 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 badly damaged by fire and spray paint.

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 has taken responsibility for other acts of arson and vandalism, claimed in an unsigned e-mail that the SUV fires were "ELF actions."

In a phone interview from jail with the Los Angeles Times, Connole denied involvement in the vandalism.

"I didn't have anything to do with that," Connole said. "I didn't know what Earth Liberation Front was about."

After the arson and vandalism spree, the FBI (news - web sites) released surveillance video from a Ford dealership in Duarte that showed two young men spray- painting SUVS.

The Times, citing sources it did not identify, said Connole could be seen on one surveillance tape just before dozens of vehicles were torched.

Connole insisted in the interview that the person on the tape doesn't look anything like him.

His arraignment was set for Monday. Lopez said the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were continuing an investigation of possible federal crimes.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-09-14 02:49am

Good.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-09-14 02:55am

Hehehe. I heard this on the morning radio. Hope they got the right guy.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-09-14 04:12am

Of course sometime investigating the wrong person has some rewards. The FBI busted a Kidde Porn group in and around the Yosemire Park area looking for the killers of those 3 tourists before they found Staner.

This and the rise in domestic violence in the era of course brought gallows humour about him getting a trial by "A Jury of his Peers" (gee we think we can find 12 misogynists in Mariposa county)

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-09-14 10:06am

I thought the topic was 'Man Nabbed SUV in Dealership Fire'...

Jadeite · Post by **Jadeite** » 2003-09-14 01:21pm

I thought it said he was stabbed in the fire.

Companion Cube · Post by **Companion Cube** » 2003-09-14 01:32pm

I remember hearing something vaguely similiar to this in a thread last week...

EmperorMing · Post by **EmperorMing** » 2003-09-14 04:53pm

The Yosemite Bear wrote:Of course sometime investigating the wrong person has some rewards. The FBI busted a Kidde Porn group in and around the Yosemire Park area looking for the killers of those 3 tourists before they found Staner.

...snip...

What you have quoted there leads to some bad precedents by Authoroties who have done this in the past and fucked up some peoples lives.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2003-09-14 05:01pm

These guys are the kind of people I'd buy an SUV just to piss off. I'm glad they got him.

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2003-09-14 06:11pm

Jeez, what is it with these these whacko-environmentalists? Non-violence was good enough for the civil rights movement and the cause of Indian independence, it should be good enough for the damn dolphins or whatever.