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Peace activist denies arson suv dealership Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030913/APN/309130519http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030913/APN/309130519
SoCal man denies involvement in $1 million arson fires at SUV dealership
The Associated Press
WEST COVINA, Calif. --
A 25-year-old member of a co-op dedicated to peace, environmentalism and other causes emphatically denied causing $1 million damage to a Hummer dealership in an attack linked to the radical environmental group Earth Liberation Front.
Joshua Thomas Connole of Pomona was arrested at his home at about 12:30 a.m. Friday in this Los Angeles suburb, said Cpl. Rudy Lopez, a police spokesman. He was booked for investigation of felony arson and vandalism and jailed in lieu of $825,000 bail. He was to be arraigned Monday.
"I didn't have anything to do with that," Connole told the Los Angeles Times by phone from his jail cell. "I didn't know what Earth Liberation Front was about. Someone mentioned to me the Hummer incident when it happened, but I don't watch TV or read newspapers. I know nothing about it. I'm no more involved in causes than standing on corners with signs. I'm not an active member in any organization."
The newspaper cited sources it did not identify as saying Connole could be seen on surveillance tape taken just before dozens of vehicles were torched Aug. 22. Connole insisted the person on the tape doesn't look anything like him.
"It's obviously not me. The hair is short, the goatee is short. The guy was wearing sunglasses. I'm always wearing my prescription glasses," the solar panel installer said.
The fires broke out Aug. 22, gutting a parts warehouse and destroying 20 Hummer H2 sport utility vehicles at the 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 sprawling San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles were also damaged that night.
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 e-mail that it was behind the SUV fires as well.
FBI spokesman Matthew McLaughlin declined to say what led agents to Connole, adding that could jeopardize the investigation.
Lopez said it had not been determined whether Connole actually belonged to the ELF. One of his roommates, Emily Lutz, insisted he had no role in the vandalism.
"We absolutely condemn it," Lutz, 25, told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. "We think it was wrong. We're peace activists. We feel like we're being unfairly targeted because we disagree with our government."
On Friday night, activists at the co-op lit candles and raised flags in support of Connole as police served warrants and began conducting searches.
"There are about a dozen of us who live together, and we're trying to promote communal living, environmental sustainability and social justice," Lutz said. "We do demonstrations, we have workshops, we attend informational meetings and we attend protests."
Last modified: September 13. 2003 6:24AM
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