Anarchists attack Wells Fargo with molotov cocktail — Portland, OR
“As a follow up to May Day, another window has been shattered along with a molotov cocktail tossed inside a Wells Fargo branch in NE Portland, Oregon, adding to the bank’s previously smashed and burned window, which still remains boarded up next to the fresh damage.
Done in solidarity to all those involved and arrested in May Day actions in marches and otherwise in Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, and internationally, as well as all those imprisoned or otherwise subjected by the corrupt and profitable prison-industrial complex. Banks like Wells Fargo continue to benefit from the plight of our comrades, and so we will continue to attack!
Fuck all capitalists and the state which supports them, and fuck the police scum who have proven time and time again to be worthless class-traitors.
What a bunch of assholes you cops looked like today, and what a horrible job protecting the property you’re paid so much to watch!
Cop cars set on fire, fires in the street, brawls with police during May Day — Oakland, CA
Today the City of Oakland facilitated marches, demonstrations and protests of various kinds at locations throughout the City. The City of Oakland is committed to facilitating peaceful expressions of free speech rights, and protecting personal safety and property; however we have continuously stated that we will not tolerate destruction or violence.
Today’s strategy focused on swiftly addressing any criminal behavior that would damage property or jeopardize public or officer safety. Officers were able to identify specific individuals in the crowd committing unlawful acts and quickly arrest them so the demonstration could continue peacefully.
Given the anticipated size of the crowd, mutual aid was called early in the day to enhance OPD staffing.
Protests started at 7 am with about 45 people boarding buses heading to ferry stations throughout the Bay Area. Meanwhile, protesters set up a series of marches, pickets and blockades at locations throughout the downtown area.
Around 11 am, groups converged in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza before splintering into two groups that headed northbound on Broadway, where some isolated incidents of vandalism occurred.
At about 12:30 this afternoon, a large crowd assembled at 14th and Broadway and some protesters began throwing objects at officers who were attempting to make an arrest. The crowd surrounded the officers and small amounts of gas were deployed on three occasions in limited areas to disperse the specific small groups of people who were committing the violent acts.
As of 2 pm, a crowd of about 400 had assembled at 14th and Broadway and in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, then headed to Fruitvale to join a permitted march. That march began at 3 pm and grew to about 3,500 people who eventually converged at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in the early evening. By about 8 pm, most of the crowd had peacefully dispersed; about 300 – 500 people remained.
Starting at about 8:30 pm, OPD issued two dispersal orders to clear the area at 14th and Broadway, 15th and Broadway/Telegraph, and Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. The orders came shortly after OPD had attempted to arrest an individual. A crowd of about 300 people surged forward and began throwing bottles and other objects. Although most of the demonstrators heeded the dispersal order, a group of about 60 people splintered off in about a dozen groups, running through the Plaza and northbound on Telegraph Avenue and Broadway.
OPD’s focus tonight is to keep the groups from reorganizing, and to minimize vandalism and damage to public and private property.
Arrests · 25 arrests confirmed (1 felony arrest for an assault on an officer; 2 felony arson arrests, including an arsonist who burned a police vehicle) Preliminary Vandalism/Damage Assessment Earlier today: · Minor vandalism/graffiti at Bank of America at Kaiser Center · Vandalism at Bank of the West (2127 Broadway) · OPD van had windows broken · News media vehicle had tires punctured
Following 8:30 pm dispersal orders: · Fire reported at 19th and Broadway · Windows broken at Wells Fargo Bank (20th and Franklin) · OPD car on fire in 1300 block of Franklin · Car on fire near Internal Affairs Division at Frank Ogawa Plaza
Five anarchists arrested in alleged plot to blow up bridge — Cleveland, OH
Five men, including self-proclaimed anarchists, have been arrested in a sting operation in which they allegedly tried to blow up a bridge outside Cleveland, the FBI says.
The suspects allegedly tried to bomb the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Brecksville Station by remote control using C-4 plastic explosives.
The alleged plot was not tied to international terrorism, the FBI says.
Update at 10:51 a.m. ET: FBI officials tells reporters today that the suspects allegedly bought what they thought were devices made of C-4 plastic explosives, but which had been rendered inert by the FBI.
An FBI official says two of the alleged co-conspirators placed two of the devices at the base of a concrete support pillar for the bridge on Monday night.
The official says the pair “attempted to remotely detonate the devices from a location that they deemed safe and would possibly give them an alibi.”
Update at 10:26 a.m. ET: The FBI says in a news release that Douglas L. Wright, 26, Brandon L. Baxter, 20, and Anthony Hayne, 35, were arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force on April 30 on charges of conspiracy and attempted use of explosive materials to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce, WKYC reports.
The FBI describes them as “self-proclaimed anarchists.”
Charges against two other men, Connor C. Stevens, 20, and Joshua S. Stafford, 23, are pending.
The arrests came as part of an FBI sting and federal officials say there ws never any danger to the public.
The FBI says the explosive devices to be used in the alleged plot were in the control of an undercover FBI agent and were inoperable. The five were also under close surveillance, the FBI says, according to WKYC.
The FBI says Wright, Baxter and Hayne allegedly formed into the group and had considered a series of evolving plots over several months.
An initial plot involved using smoke grenades to distract police in order for co-conspirators to topple the signs of financial institutions on high- rise buildings in downtown Cleveland, the FBI says, according to the WKYC report.
Update at 10:13 a.m. ET: CNN reports that the FBI says the suspects allegedly planned to detonate a C-4 plastic explosives device on the bridge by remote control. In addition, the FBI says, they allegedly planned to use smoke bombs to divert police attention.
Update at 10:08 a.m. ET: Fox News reports that the arrests followed a sting operation and that the explosives involved in the alleged plot had been made inoperable. The public was not in danger, the sources close to the investigation tell Fox News.
Fox also reports that charges were filed against the defendants this morning in Cleveland.
Protesters clash with police, throw bottles, enter bank & vandalize it — Oakland, CA
Police in riot gear have moved in on May Day protesters, scattering them through downtown and leaving Frank H. Ogawa Plaza nearly empty.
Police issued two dispersal orders to clear the 14th and 15th at Broadway and Telegraph Avenue and a crowd of about 300 people surged forward and started throwing bottles and other objects at police. Someone set off a flash-bang grenade and police converged on the perimeter of the plaza and told protesters to leave. Protesters held their ground for a few minutes, and police spread out through the plaza and then protesters moved elsewhere.
There is a small group of protesters left at 20th and Broadway but mostly there is calm in downtown Oakland after a day of May Day protests and mass marches that saw intermittent clashes with police.
At least 11 people had been arrested in Oakland by 9:30 p.m. on charges of vandalism, resisting arrest, failure to disperse and violation of court orders to stay away from Ogawa Plaza.
Early on, Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan sent a clear message that police would not tolerate violence or vandalism.
“If people are intent on hurting other people or property we aren’t going to tolerate that,” Jordan said in an afternoon news conference.
Jordan characterized the protesters as “a lot more assertive, a lot more aggressive,” than those at Occupy Oakland protests over the last seven months.
In San Francisco, a large group of protesters took
over the San Francisco Archdiocese at 888 Turk St., at Gough Street. Tuesday afternoon, one masked protester hurled and pipes bricks down from the rooftop onto the crowd below for several minutes, striking one man in the chest. That man received a bloody nose, but declined medical attention. Police surrounded the building and arrested the brick thrower when he came down, said San Francisco police Chief Greg Suhr. Protesters shouted that the masked brick thrower didn’t represent their movement. Police did not release the man’s name or age.
In Oakland, thousands of demonstrators walked miles from the Fruitvale district and other parts of the city and arrived at Frank Ogawa Plaza at 14th and Broadway at 6:30 p.m. for an evening rally. As they made their way from the Fruitvale to San Antonio Park at 1700 Foothill Blvd. to downtown, at least five vans with police in riot gear were stationed along the route. When they arrived, they sang, danced, gave speeches and stood around.
Through out the day, protesters repeatedly scuffled with police in riot gear, who responded with tear-gas and orders to clear the streets.
A Bank of America branch near the Kaiser Center and a Bank of the West at 2127 Broadway were spray painted with graffiti and there was other minor vandalism, police said.
Some protesters said the violence detracted from the message.
“As much as I support (the Occupy movement), there are a lot of legitimate reasons why it’s not being taken seriously,” said Sunny Hamilton, 25, of Castro Valley, “It’s not the message, it’s the method.
“Activism is a beautiful thing,” she said, “but roughing up a statue or hitting someone on the head with a bottle is not.”
Oakland police are receiving aid from the California Highway Police as well as the Hayward, Newark, Fremont and Union City police and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. Jordan said officers would not hesitate to use force if necessary.
In San Francisco, the take over of the archdiocese building was the culmination of a day of protests in the city. Occupiers had been evicted from the same building last month.
“We’re not the 1 percent,” said Archdiocese of San Francisco spokesman George Wesolek. “So why are they doing this to us?”
A spokesman says the protesters are not welcome and police will be asked to remove them as soon as possible. Still, Occupiers reiterated their plans to use the space as a community center and headquarters for their movement.
“It’s great,” said Ted Gullicksen, head of the San Francisco Tenants Union, who observed the take over. “I think public agencies and the church have a duty to make sure the people’s needs are being met.”
Shortly after entering, a handful of demonstrators began cutting down the chain link fence guarding the front of the building. Others set up a food line and began feeding participants.
The crowd’s reaction to the building takeover was mixed: dozens entered the building, but others watched quietly, not responding as a young man with his face hidden behind a scarf shouted, “Out of the streets and into our home!”
Earlier in the day, in San Francisco, suspended San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi showed up to support the protesters, saying, “It’s an important message the country should hear. This frustration doesn’t just occur today, but all year round.”
In the North Bay, the Golden Gate Ferries were shut down for several hours Tuesday, but they reopened at 2:15 p.m. Ferry workers said they have been negotiating a new contract with Golden Gate Bridge management for a year, without success.
Anarchists smash up various businesses and cars during May Day — Seattle, WA
Black-clad protesters using sticks and bats smashed stores and automobile windows during May Day demonstrations that turned violent in Seattle, and police recovered homemade incendiary devices made from toilet paper rolls and fruit juice boxes.
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn made an emergency declaration Tuesday afternoon, allowing police to confiscate any items that could be used as weapons.
Officers made at least eight arrests by the early evening after hundreds of people marched through downtown. Police said they seized the crude incendiary devices after some protesters hurled smoke bombs and other items.
The large crowds disrupted traffic during the evening rush hour, and several buses were rerouted through downtown.
McGinn said dozens of protesters used long sticks, which looked like flagpoles, as weapons. He said his decree would enable police to take those and other items away from people before they were used to cause damage. Following the order, police were seen removing sticks and polls and other objects from protesters’ hands throughout the day.
While much smaller in scale, the mayhem was reminiscent of the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle that caused widespread damage to stores and forced the cancellation of some WTO events.
“We appreciate that the vast majority of people out there are peaceful participants,” McGinn said at an afternoon news conference. “What we know from WTO previously is you get a group of people committed to cause damage…My direction to police is I expect them to respond to law breaking swiftly and aggressively.”
McGinn said many of the most violent protesters — those who had caused damage with rocks, hammers and tire irons — tried to hide in the larger crowd early Tuesday afternoon by shedding their all-black clothes.
At the federal appeals court building, an FBI evidence team arrived after protesters shattered glass doors with rocks and threw or shot a smoke bomb toward the lobby. The device hit the only door that didn’t break, spun off into some nearby bushes and started a small blaze that quickly burned itself out.
The entrance to the Niketown store was completely smashed in, with chunks of broken glass littering the sidewalk. Vandals splattered paint across the store and a neighboring business. Police on bicycles moved in and dispersed people, and the entrances were soon closed off with police tape.
Charlone Mayfield, a retired medical industry worker from Seattle, was inside a Verizon cellphone store when she saw the crowd approach. One of the protesters broke off from the group and struck the window as she watched.
“He started hitting the window with his baseball bat…I was here when WTO happened, this is really scary,” Mayfield said.
Traditionally, May Day honors labor and workers’ rights. In Seattle, it drew hundreds of demonstrators for immigration rights and from the Occupy movement, with several groups converging on a park near downtown for rallies and music. Later in the day, several different and smaller Occupy protests marched throughout the city, near Pike Place Market and the Space Needle.
A separate group held an organized march for immigrants’ rights that proceeded to a downtown bank branch and then staged a rally.
“Our march is about the workers and the immigrants,” said Rafael Garcia, 27, who pushed his 1-year-old son in a stroller.
Earlier Tuesday at the American Apparel store next to Niketown, assistant manager Mia Harrison was folding sweaters when she heard the commotion.
“I decided to go out on the sidewalk, and I saw all the people in black masks running to Niketown and our store. They started to throw smoke bombs and canisters,” she said.
The vandals shattered a door and cracked two windows. No one was hurt.
“It’s pretty sad, almost like someone broke into my house,” Harrison said.
Businesses, police station, and luxury cars attacked during early May Day demo — San Francisco, CA
A group of approximately 60 people damaged windows and doors of businesses and cars Monday evening following an early May Day protest that started at Dolores Park. The Mission Police Station building and Farina and Locanda restaurants were also paint-bombed.
Police said that they have received 500 calls with reports of damage including smashed windows and slashed tires. Business owners were seen cleaning up late Monday night as officers patrolled the streets after dispersing the crowd at 14th and Mission streets.
FSC Barber, Live Fit, clothing stores Weston Wear and Therapy, and restaurants–Tartine Bakery, Bar Tartine, Locanda, and Farina–were all targeted. At Weston Wear, the three floor-to-ceiling windows were smashed.
Paint balls were launched at businesses, leaving large splotches of paint on their facades.
All the windows of a car parked in front of Locanda had been smashed. A glass door at Art Zone, a business located on Valencia Street between 15th and 16th Street was broken as were car windows. On Valencia Street near Market Street, car tires were slashed and anarchy signs were painted on windows.
At Farina restaurant on 18th Street, a protester spray painted “Yuppies Out” on the window.
Ronny Ghosh, who was visiting a friend, came back to to find his Infinity fFX35 windows smashed. A witness gave him a video that shows people smashing his car windows and slashing tires.
A witness told Mission Loc@l that protesters were seen picking up the valet parking sign in front of Locanda and throwing it at the window of the restaurant. The witness also said that at least one of the protesters was seen using a crowbar.
Justin Beck, an independent journalist told Mission Loc@l that he saw protesters walking on Valencia Street to Duboce Street. They turned right on Duboce and walked to Mission Street. Riot police responded to the scene at 14th and Mission streets and asked the crowd to disperse.
Smash-n-grab suspect rented luxury cars before casing rich neighborhoods — Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles police said Wednesday they arrested a man in Hollywood who rented luxury cars and then drove around smashing other people’s car windows and stealing high-end electronics, including smartphones, computers and tablets.
After the arrest Tuesday, police served a search warrant on the man’s home, where they found dozens of valuable pieces of electronics that police believe he stole during window-smashing raids in Hollywood and surrounding neighborhoods.
Details of the investigation will be announced during a news conference Wednesday in Hollywood, where police will ask for the public’s help in identifying who the man stole the items from.
The burglar would regularly rent high-end luxury cars and drive them through upscale areas, casing vehicles for potentially valuable items, sources said. When he discovered such items, he would smash the passenger or driver’s side window and reach in and take them.
He would flee before anyone could respond to an alarm or the sound of smashing glass.
Among the vehicles he used for the mini-crime wave was a Mercedes convertible. The items found inside the suspect’s home included high-end cameras, jewelry, laptop computers, video cameras and tablet devices.
Two men accused of firing BBs through dozens of car windows — Temecula, CA
Two 21-year-old men allegedly went on a vandalism spree throughout Temecula, Murrieta and neighboring cities today, firing BBs through the windows of dozens of parked cars before being arrested, police reported.
Joshua Rochford, 21, of Murrieta and Nicholas Fowler, 21, of San Diego were taken into custody at about 1:41 a.m. Thursday following a rash of shootings near Scott and Briggs roads, police said today.
Murrieta police Sgt. Don Weller said Murrieta patrol units were alerted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department that they were investigating a report of suspects driving a car around that area, shooting out windows of parked cars with a BB gun.
“The suspect vehicle seen leaving the area was described a black Infiniti G35, with a loud exhaust,” the sergeant said, in a news release.
A Murrieta officer stopped a car matching that description a short time later near the intersection of Whitewood Road and Busman Avenue in Murrieta, Weller said.
Fowler, the driver, and Rochford, the passenger, were booked on suspicion of felony vandalism following evidence found in the car police believe was used during the BB gun shootings, Weller said.
“It is estimated there were over forty (40) parked vehicles in the city of Murrieta that were struck with BB’s during the night-time hours,” Weller said.
Police estimated a minimum amount of damage caused by the shootings to be $4,500.
Weller added there were several other victims of the same crime in the surrounding cities of Temecula, Winchester, and Menifee during the night.
Ramon Pino, who lives on Lincoln Avenue in Murrieta, said he learned his car had been shot at when he was awoken at about 3:45 a.m. by a neighbor.
“I didn’t hear anything [during the shooting], so it kind of scared me when someone rang my bell at that time in the morning,” Pino told Patch.
At least three cars along Lincoln Avenue near Shivela Middle School were shot at overnight, residents told Patch.
The glass was shot out of the back window of Pino’s 2001 Chevrolet Suburban. A side rear window was also damaged. Pino said according to an estimate he’d received, it would cost $1,700 to replace both windows. (See a photo of the damage attached.)
He was happy to hear two suspects were in custody.
“I am so happy they caught those guys,” Pino said, noting his son’s upper bedroom window was also shot at.
Fowler and Rochford, who were booked at Southwest Detention Center in French Valley, were also accused of conspiracy to commit a crime.
$400,000 worth of genetically modified trees destroyed — Rotorua, New Zealand
Nearly 400 genetically modified pine trees have been destroyed by intruders who caused $400,000 worth of damage after wreaking havoc in a Rotorua field trial.
The one-hectare trial by Crown Research Institute Scion has been set back by a year after the Easter weekend raid.
The incident, in which the intruders dug under an electrified and monitored double fence to cut off at ground level or rip out the 375 radiata pines, had been widely condemned.
The trees were planted last year to test herbicide resistance and to study reproductive development.
Most were less than a metre high and were part of two experiments set to run for two to three years.
Scion Chief Executive Dr Warren Parker described the setback as a blatant act of vandalism designed to end the company’s genetic modification research programme. The trees would be replanted, however, despite “our research opponents being determined to stop us”.
The damaged fences have been repaired and police have inspected the site.
Barry Scott, a former ERMA board member and professor of molecular genetics at Massey University, described the attack as “abhorrent”.
“Vandalism of this kind is senseless, destroys years of work done by researchers, and fails to recognise that New Zealand has one of the tightest regulatory environments on GM research in the world, and that this particular experiment was being carried out under strict conditions imposed by ERMA to protect the environment.”
No one has claimed responsibility for the damage.
GE Free NZ resident Claire Bleakley told Radio New Zealand she had “absolutely no idea at all” who was responsible.
She doubted the person was connected to the organisation.
“This is really the responsibility of a person who is obviously so disfranchised by the ERMA process and their anger at having GE trees regardless of the 95% submissions against it to ERMA.”
Teen charged with setting fire to church — Buffalo, NY
Police have charged a Buffalo teen with arson in connection with a church fire over the weekend. He’s accused of torching a vacant church at Tacoma and Colvin.
Even before the fire was out, neighbors say they had a hunch that it was set, intentionally or accidentally, by kids breaking into the building. As it turns out, they were right.
Seventeen-year-old Jonathan Booth of Buffalo is facing arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment charges after police say he admitted to starting a three-alarm fire at the church owned by Korean United Methodist Church. The building sustained a quarter of a million dollars in damages .
Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield said, “It took a lot of our resources, within the city, to respond to this fire. And at that fire, we lost one of our members, who broke her ankle. [A] 16-year veteran of the Buffalo Fire Department was injured at that scene.”
Fire marshals were led to Booth by Town of Tonawanda Police, who’d heard from tipsters that five or six teens were inside the vacant church, when the fire started.
“In his confession, he said that he was at odds with one of the other individuals that was in the church, and he decided to set an article of clothing on fire, of that individual’s. That’s how the fire started,” Whitfield stated.
Neighbors say kids are almost constantly inside the empty church, causing mischief. The owners haven’t had the money to maintain the property for several years.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said, “The property has been written up a number of times, as recently as January, and will soon be in housing court.”
Permits and inspections assistant director Louis Petrucci said, “The owner has expressed a desire to demolish the property, at this point. Once they make an application, the Preservation Board will review their application for demolition.”
The city is now reviewing the property, and could intercede if it’s deemed to be worth saving.
“We would also certainly make sure that community members would be notified, so that the community would be able to play a role in preventing that, if they wish to,” said Mayor Brown.
The firefighter with the broken ankle has had surgery and is now recovering. Two other firefighters suffered minor injuries here, according to Whitfield.
The investigation is still open, and it’s possible the other kids who’d broken into this church with Booth may also be charged.
4,500 feet of copper stolen from AT&T; service down for several days — Hendersonville, NC
Copper crooks have their eyes on a new target in North and South Carolina: AT&T telephone lines. In the past two weeks, thieves stole 4,500 feet of copper telephone cables from telephone poles in Hendersonville, N.C., leaving people without phone and internet service. 72 year old Barbara Myers was one of them. “It was out for 10 days,” the resident remembers. “It was aggravating.”
Just this year, there have been 9 incidents copper thefts from AT&T poles in N.C. 14 have occured in S.C., according to spokesman Josh Gelinas. In 2011, there were 125 incidents across North Carolina, and 30 in S.C. The cases have been so bad, the company just put up a reward of $3,000 for any information leading to an arrest in the case near Myers’ neighborhood. “It’s the first time we’re had to go to that extreme,” says Gelinas. “But it’s gotten so bad.”
Gelinas says the company incurs a huge cost replacing the poles and lines, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars so far. “We try to leave a cushion for things like that, but eventually those costs add up, and get passed on,” says Gelinas.
AT&T is working with law enforcement agencies and scrap metal dealers to catch those reponsible, but they’re also asking for your help.
For the second time this year, a U.S. Bank branch in Portland has been targeted by vandals.
Early Tuesday morning, officers responded to the bank, located at 1225 Southeast 39th Avenue, after a security alarm was tripped. They arrived to find the front door’s glass smashed out, and a smaller windowpane broken.
Crews boarded up the windows with plywood. A witness tells KOIN he heard the glass breaking but thought it may have been a car crash or construction.
Officers patrolled the area around the bank looking for other damage, but found none.
According to Lt. Robert King, spokesperson for the Portland Police Bureau, investigators believe two suspects dressed in black may have been responsible for the vandalism. Bank security cameras will be reviewed to see if a suspect description can be generated.
Bank smashed up and hit with firebomb — Seattle, WA
A Columbia City bank was damaged overnight after someone threw an incendiary device at the business.
At about 9:45 am Thursday, bank employees arrived at work and discovered a broken window and burn marks on the side of the building, located at Rainier Avenue S. and S. Edmunds Street.
It appears a gasoline-filled bottle struck and scorched the side of the bank, but the fire did not spread or cause extensive damage to the business.
Dozens of vehicles and garage boxes torched — Hainait, Belgium
Tens of arsons these last days. About ten garage boxes in Montigny-sur-Sambre were burned; and cars and vehicles were put on fire in Saint-Ghislain, Jemappes, Ghlin, Quaregnon and Tournai.
![Two men accused of firing BBs through dozens of car windows — Temecula, CA
Two 21-year-old men allegedly went on a vandalism spree throughout Temecula, Murrieta and neighboring cities today, firing BBs through the windows of dozens of parked cars before being arrested, police reported.
Joshua Rochford, 21, of Murrieta and Nicholas Fowler, 21, of San Diego were taken into custody at about 1:41 a.m. Thursday following a rash of shootings near Scott and Briggs roads, police said today.
Murrieta police Sgt. Don Weller said Murrieta patrol units were alerted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department that they were investigating a report of suspects driving a car around that area, shooting out windows of parked cars with a BB gun.
“The suspect vehicle seen leaving the area was described a black Infiniti G35, with a loud exhaust,” the sergeant said, in a news release.
A Murrieta officer stopped a car matching that description a short time later near the intersection of Whitewood Road and Busman Avenue in Murrieta, Weller said.
Fowler, the driver, and Rochford, the passenger, were booked on suspicion of felony vandalism following evidence found in the car police believe was used during the BB gun shootings, Weller said.
“It is estimated there were over forty (40) parked vehicles in the city of Murrieta that were struck with BB’s during the night-time hours,” Weller said.
Police estimated a minimum amount of damage caused by the shootings to be $4,500.
Weller added there were several other victims of the same crime in the surrounding cities of Temecula, Winchester, and Menifee during the night.
Ramon Pino, who lives on Lincoln Avenue in Murrieta, said he learned his car had been shot at when he was awoken at about 3:45 a.m. by a neighbor.
“I didn’t hear anything [during the shooting], so it kind of scared me when someone rang my bell at that time in the morning,” Pino told Patch.
At least three cars along Lincoln Avenue near Shivela Middle School were shot at overnight, residents told Patch.
The glass was shot out of the back window of Pino’s 2001 Chevrolet Suburban. A side rear window was also damaged. Pino said according to an estimate he’d received, it would cost $1,700 to replace both windows. (See a photo of the damage attached.)
He was happy to hear two suspects were in custody.
“I am so happy they caught those guys,” Pino said, noting his son’s upper bedroom window was also shot at.
Fowler and Rochford, who were booked at Southwest Detention Center in French Valley, were also accused of conspiracy to commit a crime.
http://temecula.patch.com/articles/vandalism-spree-leads-to-two-arrests-nicholas-anthony-fowler-joshua-rochford-vandalism-temecula-news](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2tk5q5LX81qe9m38o1_500.png)
![Teen charged with setting fire to church — Buffalo, NY
Police have charged a Buffalo teen with arson in connection with a church fire over the weekend. He’s accused of torching a vacant church at Tacoma and Colvin.
Even before the fire was out, neighbors say they had a hunch that it was set, intentionally or accidentally, by kids breaking into the building. As it turns out, they were right.
Seventeen-year-old Jonathan Booth of Buffalo is facing arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment charges after police say he admitted to starting a three-alarm fire at the church owned by Korean United Methodist Church. The building sustained a quarter of a million dollars in damages .
Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield said, “It took a lot of our resources, within the city, to respond to this fire. And at that fire, we lost one of our members, who broke her ankle. [A] 16-year veteran of the Buffalo Fire Department was injured at that scene.”
» You can see a photo gallery of the fire here.
Fire marshals were led to Booth by Town of Tonawanda Police, who’d heard from tipsters that five or six teens were inside the vacant church, when the fire started.
“In his confession, he said that he was at odds with one of the other individuals that was in the church, and he decided to set an article of clothing on fire, of that individual’s. That’s how the fire started,” Whitfield stated.
Neighbors say kids are almost constantly inside the empty church, causing mischief. The owners haven’t had the money to maintain the property for several years.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said, “The property has been written up a number of times, as recently as January, and will soon be in housing court.”
Permits and inspections assistant director Louis Petrucci said, “The owner has expressed a desire to demolish the property, at this point. Once they make an application, the Preservation Board will review their application for demolition.”
The city is now reviewing the property, and could intercede if it’s deemed to be worth saving.
“We would also certainly make sure that community members would be notified, so that the community would be able to play a role in preventing that, if they wish to,” said Mayor Brown.
The firefighter with the broken ankle has had surgery and is now recovering. Two other firefighters suffered minor injuries here, according to Whitfield.
The investigation is still open, and it’s possible the other kids who’d broken into this church with Booth may also be charged.
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/crime/17-yr-old-arrested-for-arson-of-church](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2tjzylHkb1qe9m38o1_500.gif)
