Post by Woody Williams on Jan 14, 2006 22:11:51 GMT -5
BURN 'EM!
3 arrested in alleged eco-terror bomb plot
A woman and two men planned attacks for Earth Liberation Front, the FBI says.
By Art Campos -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, January 14, 2006
FBI agents said they arrested three people Friday who were plotting to blow up unspecified power generation plants, cell phone towers and U.S. Forest Service facilities. The three, who were taken into custody in a shopping center parking lot in north Auburn, planned the attacks on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front, an eco-terrorist group that commits acts of vandalism, the FBI said.
Special Agent John Cauthen said agents believe the suspects had "a loose association" with four Newcastle residents allegedly tied to the ELF who were arrested last year in connection with bombing incidents in Placer and Amador counties.
"But there is no information to indicate they were connected to the events that resulted in the arrests" of the Newcastle residents, Cauthen said.
Arrested Friday were Eric Taylor McDavid, 28, of Foresthill; Zachary O. Jenson, 20, of Monroe, Wash.; and Lauren Weiner, 20, of Philadelphia.
The three were taken from Auburn to the Sacramento County jail, Cauthen said.
Karen Ernst, an FBI spokeswoman, said formal charges against the three will be filed next week. No bail amounts have been assigned, she added.
Cauthen said the three had been living temporarily in the greater Sacramento area, and their arrests are part of a continuing investigation.
He declined to say whether other arrests will be made but said the public is in no immediate danger. The FBI would not disclose details of the planned attacks or how information leading to the arrests was obtained.
Cauthen said, however, that agents moved in on McDavid, Jenson and Weiner at 11 a.m. in front of a Kmart store in a shopping center at Bell Road and Highway 49 in north Auburn.
The three offered no resistance, FBI agents said.
"The shopping center had nothing to do with the threats or the plot," Cauthen said. "We were following the suspects ... Weighing all the circumstances, the parking lot seemed to be the best place to make the arrests. The public's safety was first and foremost on our minds."
No explosives were recovered when the arrests were made, Cauthen said.
He said Jenson and Weiner had come from out of state "to do the work of the ELF" and that the FBI's investigation of the suspects took "several months."
Authorities say that acts of eco-terrorism by ELF sympathizers began in Placer County on Dec. 27, 2004, when three unexploded bombs and graffiti were discovered at homes under construction in Lincoln.
On Jan. 12, 2005, five unexploded bombs were found at an office building under construction on Auburn Folsom Road in Auburn. A month later, an unexploded bomb was found at the front entrance of Auburn's historic courthouse and another at the back door of the Department of Motor Vehicles in the Placer County seat.
Seven bombs, believed to be the work of the ELF, ignited at an apartment complex under construction in the Amador County town of Sutter Creek on Feb. 7.
Shortly afterward, the FBI arrested four Newcastle residents with alleged ties to ELF. They were charged in a Sacramento federal indictment with conspiracy to burn buildings under construction. Three of the four entered pleas of guilty in October and are awaiting sentencing.
Ryan Daniel Lewis, 22, considered the ringleader of the group, will be sentenced on two counts of attempted arson and one count of arson.
Sisters Eva Rose Holland, 26, and Lili Marie Holland, 21, will be sentenced to a single count each of attempted arson.
The fourth, Jeremiah Dean Colcleasure, who was 24 at the time of his arrest, is awaiting trial.
Cauthen said the investigation involving McDavid, Jenson and Weiner was a collaborative effort among the FBI's joint terrorism task force, the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Prosecution of the three will be handled by the U.S. attorney's office, he said.
3 arrested in alleged eco-terror bomb plot
A woman and two men planned attacks for Earth Liberation Front, the FBI says.
By Art Campos -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, January 14, 2006
FBI agents said they arrested three people Friday who were plotting to blow up unspecified power generation plants, cell phone towers and U.S. Forest Service facilities. The three, who were taken into custody in a shopping center parking lot in north Auburn, planned the attacks on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front, an eco-terrorist group that commits acts of vandalism, the FBI said.
Special Agent John Cauthen said agents believe the suspects had "a loose association" with four Newcastle residents allegedly tied to the ELF who were arrested last year in connection with bombing incidents in Placer and Amador counties.
"But there is no information to indicate they were connected to the events that resulted in the arrests" of the Newcastle residents, Cauthen said.
Arrested Friday were Eric Taylor McDavid, 28, of Foresthill; Zachary O. Jenson, 20, of Monroe, Wash.; and Lauren Weiner, 20, of Philadelphia.
The three were taken from Auburn to the Sacramento County jail, Cauthen said.
Karen Ernst, an FBI spokeswoman, said formal charges against the three will be filed next week. No bail amounts have been assigned, she added.
Cauthen said the three had been living temporarily in the greater Sacramento area, and their arrests are part of a continuing investigation.
He declined to say whether other arrests will be made but said the public is in no immediate danger. The FBI would not disclose details of the planned attacks or how information leading to the arrests was obtained.
Cauthen said, however, that agents moved in on McDavid, Jenson and Weiner at 11 a.m. in front of a Kmart store in a shopping center at Bell Road and Highway 49 in north Auburn.
The three offered no resistance, FBI agents said.
"The shopping center had nothing to do with the threats or the plot," Cauthen said. "We were following the suspects ... Weighing all the circumstances, the parking lot seemed to be the best place to make the arrests. The public's safety was first and foremost on our minds."
No explosives were recovered when the arrests were made, Cauthen said.
He said Jenson and Weiner had come from out of state "to do the work of the ELF" and that the FBI's investigation of the suspects took "several months."
Authorities say that acts of eco-terrorism by ELF sympathizers began in Placer County on Dec. 27, 2004, when three unexploded bombs and graffiti were discovered at homes under construction in Lincoln.
On Jan. 12, 2005, five unexploded bombs were found at an office building under construction on Auburn Folsom Road in Auburn. A month later, an unexploded bomb was found at the front entrance of Auburn's historic courthouse and another at the back door of the Department of Motor Vehicles in the Placer County seat.
Seven bombs, believed to be the work of the ELF, ignited at an apartment complex under construction in the Amador County town of Sutter Creek on Feb. 7.
Shortly afterward, the FBI arrested four Newcastle residents with alleged ties to ELF. They were charged in a Sacramento federal indictment with conspiracy to burn buildings under construction. Three of the four entered pleas of guilty in October and are awaiting sentencing.
Ryan Daniel Lewis, 22, considered the ringleader of the group, will be sentenced on two counts of attempted arson and one count of arson.
Sisters Eva Rose Holland, 26, and Lili Marie Holland, 21, will be sentenced to a single count each of attempted arson.
The fourth, Jeremiah Dean Colcleasure, who was 24 at the time of his arrest, is awaiting trial.
Cauthen said the investigation involving McDavid, Jenson and Weiner was a collaborative effort among the FBI's joint terrorism task force, the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Prosecution of the three will be handled by the U.S. attorney's office, he said.
