Woman accused in ski area arson.Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard CORRECTION (ran 12/15/2005): The name of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall was misspelled in a story published on Page A1 on Wednesday. A federal prosecutor on Tuesday linked a former Eugene woman to a $12 million arson of a Vail, Colo., ski resort that focused national headlines on the radical environmental 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 in 1998. Chelsea Dawn Gerlach Chelsea Dawn Gerlach (born in 1977) is a radical environmentalist associated with the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front.[1] She was arrested in Portland, Oregon on December 7, 2005, and on July 21, 2006, she pleaded guilty to three counts of also participated in four other arsons and other activities claimed by radical groups, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdahl said during a hearing in Eugene in which a federal magistrate ordered Gerlach held to ensure she will not flee the country before her trial. Gerlach is one of six defendants named last week after a nine-year investigation into acts of environmental sabotage in Oregon and Washington. Engdahl indicated more suspects will be charged in the next six months. Gerlach's lawyer, federal public defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was Craig Weinerman, described the allegations against Gerlach as "rumor and innuendo innuendo n. from Latin innuere, "to nod toward." In law it means "an indirect hint." "Innuendo" is used in lawsuits for defamation (libel or slander), usually to show that the party suing was the person about whom the nasty statements were made or why the comments " supported by anonymous informants. "Ms. Gerlach considers herself an environmental activist," Weinerman said. "She believes in peaceful means. She denies her involvement in any of these matters." However, U.S. Magistrate Tom Coffin said Gerlach has a big incentive to flee because a grand jury is considering additional arson charges that could bring a mandatory prison term of 25 years or more if she is convicted. He said the public danger posed by the arsons is an "overriding factor" in his decision to hold Gerlach in custody. Prosecutors are seeking punishment tougher than normal under federal sentencing guidelines The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules that set out a uniform sentencing policy for convicted defendants in the United States federal court system. The Guidelines are the product of the United States Sentencing Commission and are part of an overall federal sentencing reform , alleging that a conspiracy by Gerlach and two co-defendants to damage a Bonneville Power Administration The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is a U.S. self-financed federal agency which transmits and sells wholesale electricity in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana. The BPA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. tower on Dec. 30, 1999, falls under the federal crime of terrorism. Also charged in the tower incident are Stanislas Gregory Meyerhoff, 28, a former Eugene resident arrested in Charlottesville, Va., last week, and Josephine Sunshine Overaker. Engdahl said Overaker is a fugitive believed to be living in Germany. In court, Engdahl said a grand jury is considering charges against Gerlach for a May 9, 1999, arson at Childers Meat Co. in Eugene caused by two fire bombs, described in a court document as five-gallon plastic buckets filled with gasoline and "triggered by a mechanical timing device." One bomb, placed near a natural gas meter at the rear of the building, exploded after firefighters arrived to put out the blaze, Engdahl said in court. No one was injured in the 2:20 a.m. fire, which did $1.2 million in damage to the business, Engdahl said. An affidavit in the Childers investigation shows two unnamed informants told FBI agents that a woman they knew as "Country Girl" acted as a lookout for the attack. The two later were shown photographs of Gerlach and confirmed she was "Country Girl," according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a sworn statement by FBI Special Agent Paul Caldwell. In addition to the Vail and Childers arsons, Engdahl said investigators believe that Gerlach participated in an Oct. 11, 1998, attempted arson and animal release at a Bureau of Land Management wild horse corral corral a small fenced-in enclosure with high, wooden fences, suitable for holding cattle or horses. corral system a management system in which range cattle are put into corrals and fed hay for a period when the environment is most in Rock Spring, Wyo.; a Dec. 25, 1999, arson at a Boise Cascade Boise Cascade Holdings, LLC, which uses the trade name Boise, is an American pulp and paper company, ranked as the thirteenth largest forest products company in the world. building in Monmouth; an arson May 21, 2001, at the Jefferson Poplar Farm in Clatskanie, and another on the same day at the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle. About three dozen spectators, a majority apparently supporters and relatives of Gerlach, attended the 45-minute hearing Tuesday. In a written statement, Gerlach's relatives said they are "disturbed and baffled" by the allegations and by the portrayal of Gerlach as "hardened by crime and malfeasance The commission of an act that is unequivocally illegal or completely wrongful. Malfeasance is a comprehensive term used in both civil and Criminal Law to describe any act that is wrongful. ." "The person we know and love is incapable of such acts and we have absolutely no reason to believe in her criminal involvement in these cases," the statement reads. "We are all dedicated to keeping a constant watch to make sure that she is treated fairly and with respect, so that her innocence will not be clouded by the fear-inspiring and unfounded labels of 'terrorist.' ' A reporter's call to the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. Animal Liberation Front The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is a name used internationally by those who, through the means of direct action, oppose the use of animals as property or resources through capitalizing on the destruction and experimentation of animals. press office in Canoga Park, Calif., was not returned Tuesday. The Earth Liberation Front disavows any official spokesman. In an interview last week, ALF ALF - Algebraic Logic Functional language spokesman Jerry Vlasak said the government unfairly labels ALF as a terrorist group. He said ALF targets only industries and activities that profit from animal torture. Activists are adamant about not harming life in their attacks, he said. "If you are not one of those torturing animals to death, you have nothing to worry about," Vlasak said. In spite of the government's terrorism label, federal agents have had little success in prosecuting ALF activists, he said. "It's making them look bad," Vlasak said. "They're rounding up the usual suspects and making a big show of it. At the end of the day, I don't think you're going to see any convictions." No trial date for Gerlach has been set. CAPTION(S): Chelsea Dawn Gerlach is taken from U.S. District Court in Eugene after her bail hearing on Tuesday. |
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