MAN HELD IN SUV VANDALISM ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST ARRESTED IN INVESTIGATION OF $2.5 MILLION ATTACK.Byline: Jannise Johnson and Rod Leveque Staff Writers Police and federal agents arrested a 25-year-old Pomona man Friday in connection with $2.5 million vandalism and arson attack on SUVs at car dealerships This article is about car dealerships. For the indie pop band, see Dealership (band). A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new cars and/or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or in West Covina West Covina, city (1990 pop. 96,086), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in the San Gabriel valley; settled 1905, inc. 1923. Before World War II, West Covina was a small rural community where walnuts, wheat, and livestock were raised. , Duarte and Arcadia. Josh Connole, described as an environmental activist and peace protester by members of the Pomona co-op where he lived, is being held on suspicion of multiple counts of arson and felony vandalism, a West Covina Police spokesman said. Connole was behind bars at the West Covina Police Department Friday night in lieu of $825,000 bail, Cpl. Rudy Lopez said. FBI agents worked with West Covina police in arresting Connole. ``The FBI is involved because they are looking into the possibility that it was an act of domestic terrorism Noun 1. domestic terrorism - terrorism practiced in your own country against your own people; "the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City was an instance of domestic terrorism" ,'' Lopez said. Nearly 100 vehicles, many high-priced Hummer H2 SUVs, were set afire Verb 1. set afire - set fire to; cause to start burning; "Lightening set fire to the forest" set ablaze, set aflame, set on fire combust, burn - cause to burn or combust; "The sun burned off the fog"; "We combust coal and other fossil fuels" or sprayed with graffiti throughout the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. on Aug. 22. Some of the cars were spray-painted with slogans such as ``Fat, Lazy Americans'' and ``ELF'' - the initials of the environmental activist group Earth Liberation Front The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is the collective name for anonymous and autonomous individuals or groups that, according to the now defunct Earth Liberation Front Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the . A reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the vandalism attack on Clippinger ballooned to $100,000. FBI spokesman Matthew McLaughlin would not reveal Friday what led investigators to Connole, saying doing so would jeopardize jeop·ard·ize tr.v. jeop·ard·ized, jeop·ard·iz·ing, jeop·ard·izes To expose to loss or injury; imperil. See Synonyms at endanger. the investigation. He did reveal, however, that agents had Connole under surveillance for some time before they arrested him about 1 a.m. Friday morning outside the Pomona co-op where he lived. Federal agents and West Covina police then camped out in front of the homes throughout the day Friday waiting to secure and serve search warrants on two homes owned by the co-op. Late Friday, as activists lit candles and raised flags in support of Connole, police served the warrants and began searching the homes. Connole's roommate, 25-year-old Emily Lutz of Pomona, insisted Friday that Connole had nothing to do with the attacks on the auto dealerships. She said she believed he was targeted by federal investigators because of his involvement in protests criticizing the war in Iraq and the Bush administration. ``Our one roommate who was arrested is very active in trying to bring about environmental change,'' she said. ``He is a peace activist A peace activist is a political activist who strives for peace, and against war. Peace activists are part of the peace movement. The role played by peace activists in preventing wars have been questioned in a paper published by Dr. . He would never do anything like this.'' Staff Writer Frank Pine contributed to this report. |
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