3 plead guilty to string of arsons across West.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

Three defendants in a multi-state investigation of environmentally motivated arson took plea deals in federal court in Eugene on Thursday and pledged to continue cooperating with prosecutors.

Their recommended sentences will range from three years to 14 years, substantially less than they could have faced had they gone to trial. At their sentencing hearings, scheduled for Dec. 14, the government will argue their crimes violate the federal anti-terrorism law.

Three more defendants are scheduled to appear for similar hearings today. Four others are awaiting trial and three are fugitives believed to have fled the country.

Thursday's court action is a landmark in Operation Backfire, the name federal investigators adopted for their effort to unravel what they described as a highly secretive cell of radical activists. Almost all their crimes had been claimed by the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front - leaderless groups that provide a face for anonymous, often illegal acts aimed at drawing attention to environmental issues.

By pleading guilty to conspiracy, the three defendants provide strong evidence against their 10 co-defendants. The three said all 13 co-defendants were involved in a group they called "The Family," in which they studied targets, built firebombs and pledged secrecy in 18 separate attacks.

Lawyers for the defendants asked U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken to seal documents containing the specific terms of cooperation by their clients.

In court Thursday, Springfield resident Kevin Tubbs, 37, pleaded guilty to 56 counts - including two of conspiracy and 54 of arson - involving nine separate attacks. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall said he will recommend a 14-year sentence if Tubbs follows through on his pledge to cooperate with the government.

His crimes include the destruction of the Oakridge Ranger Station in 1996, a fire-bomb attack on the Eugene Police substation near the University of Oregon in 2000, and the $1 million arson of 35 SUVs at the former Romania truck dealership in Eugene in 2001. In most cases, Tubbs served as driver and lookout, according to court records.

Tubbs also admitted to arson at the Cavel West horse meat packing plant in Redmond in 1997, a plot Tubbs admitted hatching after reading an article about the plant.

He also pleaded guilty to arson or attempted arson at: a Bureau of Land Management horse and burro facility in Burns in 1997; a U.S. Forest Industries plant in Medford in 1998; Childers Meat Co. in Eugene in 1999; Superior Lumber Co. in Glendale in 2001; and the Jefferson Poplar Farms in Clatskanie in 2001.

As part of his deal, Tubbs will not be charged for his role in arsons in four other states - including the 1998 firebombing of a Vail ski resort that caused $12 million in damage and focused nationwide attention on radical environmental activism.

Federal charges for arson to wild horse facilities in Wyoming and California and arson at the National Wildlife Research Facility in Olympia also will be dropped, according to court records.

Tubbs, wearing jail clothing and ankle shackles, answered questions as required in court but made no further statement. At one point, Aiken paused to note that Tubbs appeared distressed and asked if he was falling ill.

"It's a scary situation," Tubbs replied. "I'm fine."

Kendall Tankersley, 29, currently free on $250,000 bail pending trial, choked back tears as she pleaded guilty to conspiracy, attempted arson and arson in a plea deal for no more than a 51-month sentence.

Tankersley admitted being the lookout for an arson at the U.S. Forest Industries plant in Medford in 1998. She was allowed to remain free to attend school in Arizona pending sentencing.

A third defendant, Darren Todd Thurston, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit arson to destroy a Bonneville Power Administration transmission line in Deschutes County in 1999. He also will plead guilty to a federal charge pending in California for arson at a BLM wild horse corral near Susanville in 2001.

Engdall said he will dismiss other charges and recommend a 37-month prison sentence for Thurston. He remains in custody.

Under federal law, judges are not required to follow plea deals, although they generally do. Defense lawyers are free to argue for shorter terms. All three defendants can earn a sentence reduction of up to 54 days per year for good behavior.

Scheduled to appear in federal court in Eugene today are: Stanislas Meyerhoff, Chelsea Dawn Gerlach and Suzanne Nicole Savoie, all 29.

Like Tubbs, Meyerhoff and Gerlach face potential prison terms of more than 100 years. Savoie is free on bail.