SoCal man arrested in $1 million arson fires at SUV dealerships

WEST COVINA, Calif. (AP) A 25-year-old man was arrested Friday by FBI agents for investigation of arson and vandalism that caused $1 million in damages last month at a Hummer dealership, police said.

Joshua Thomas Connole, of Pomona, was arrested at home about 12:30 a.m., said Cpl. Rudy Lopez, a West Covina police spokesman.

Connole's roommate, Emily Lutz, 25, said he was a peace activist who has protested the war in Iraq and actions of the Bush administration.

She told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Saturday's newspaper that Connole and Lutz belonged to the Regen Co-op, a housing cooperative.

``There are about a dozen of us who live together, and we're trying to promote communal living, environmental sustainability and social justice,'' she said. ``We do demonstrations, we have workshops, we attend informational meetings and we attend protests.''

Fires that broke out Aug. 22 gutted a parts warehouse and destroyed 20 Hummer H2 sport utility vehicles at a West Covina dealership. Another 20 Hummers and several Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs were significantly damaged by fire and spray-painting.

Three other dealerships and at least four privately owned vehicles in the area also were damaged during the vandalism spree.

Words such as ``ELF,'' ``Fat, Lazy Americans'' and ``I (heart) pollution'' were painted on the SUVs. ``ELF'' stands for Earth Liberation Front, a loose association of militant environmentalists. The group, which previously has taken responsibility for other acts of arson and vandalism, claimed in an unsigned e-mail that the SUV fires were ``ELF actions.''

Lopez said it had not been determined whether Connole belonged to the group. Connole's roommate insisted he had not role in the vandalism.

``We absolutely condemn it,'' she told the Daily Bulletin. ``We think it was wrong. We're peace activists. We feel like we're being unfairly targeted because we disagree with our government.''

FBI spokesman Matthew McLaughlin would not say what led agents to Connole because doing so would jeopardize the investigation.

Connole was booked for investigation of felony arson and vandalism, Lopez said. He was being held at the West Covina Police Department with bail set at $825,000. Arraignment was set for Monday.

Lopez said the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were continuing an investigation of federal crimes, which would be added to Connole's state crimes charges.

The FBI, after the arson and vandalism spree, released surveillance video from a Ford dealership in Duarte that showed two young men spray-painting SUVS.

Late Friday at the Regen Co-op, activists lit candles and raised flags in support of Connole as police served warrants and began conducting searches. Connole's roommate is a founding member of the Pomona cooperative.