2 women sentenced in Western arsons

A federal judge sentenced two women to prison Thursday for their roles in arson fires around the West that caused more than $40 million in damage over a five-year period.

Suzanne Savoie and Kendall Tankersley were the fifth and sixth of 10 radical environmentalists to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Eugene after they pleaded guilty to arson and conspiracy. All were members of an underground cell of the Earth Liberation Front known as "The Family."

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken sentenced Savoie to four years and three months in federal prison. In order to recognize Savoie's cooperation with investigators, Aiken imposed a sentence that was eight months less than that proposed in a plea bargain. Aiken also noted that Savoie left the conspiracy in 2001 and has committed no crimes since then.

Savoie was convicted of participating in two 2001 arsons, at a lumber company and a tree farm.

Tankersley's three-year, 10-month sentence is five months less than she agreed to when she pleaded guilty to an arson at U.S. Forest Industries in Medford in 1998. Aiken said the less severe sentence was because Tankersley left the conspiracy immediately after the arson and cooperated fully when arrested.