Aug 7, 2008 12:34 am US/Pacific
Reward Up To $50,000 In UC Santa Cruz Firebombings
SANTA CRUZ (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
Federal authorities upped the reward being offered in the weekend firebombing of a University of California, Santa Cruz researcher's house and the torching of a car belong to another scientist who also experiments on laboratory animals.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation added $20,000 to the $30,000 reward fund already amassed through contributions from UC Santa Cruz, the U.S. Humane Society and Santa Cruz residents. Police said it was the most money ever offered for information about a local crime.
Meantime, the FBI was following a variety of leads as it works toward finding those responsible for the firebombings, spokesman Joe Schadler said Wednesday.
Officials provided few new details about the bombings, but the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said that a research associate of a third UC scientist who was visited at home by masked animal rights activists in February received a threatening call around the time of Saturday's attacks.
Despite earlier reports, no activist groups or individuals had claimed responsibility for any of the incidents, Santa Cruz police and the FBI said.
The first incident occurred around 5:45 a.m. Saturday and ignited the porch of Professor David Feldheim's home in the west part of the city. The researcher, his wife and their two children managed to escape down a fire ladder from a second-story window, according to police.
A short time after the firebomb damaged Feldheim's home; the car of another university researcher was firebombed outside a faculty housing area on campus.
Police said the incidents follow several attacks by "suspected animal rights extremists'' since March 31, including the firebombing of a police vehicle. All agencies involved in the investigation are working to ensure the safety of others listed in animal rights pamphlets found at Caffe Pergolesi, located in downtown Santa Cruz, police spokesman Zach Friend said.
The pamphlets listed names and addresses of UC Santa Cruz researchers, and included threats toward them, according to police.
Feldheim said in an e-mail earlier this week that his home was vandalized last winter, prompting him to have security alarms and motion sensitive lights installed. His house was listed in animal rights pamphlets that were found.
"The guarantee of free speech embodied in the Bill of Rights envisions responsible protest and respect for others," FBI Special Agent in Charge Charlene Thornton said. "When people become so blinded by ideology they commit crimes that trample the rights of their neighbors and put lives in danger, the FBI must act."
Authorities said they hoped the now increased reward would motivate people to come forward and offer information that could assist with the investigation. Those with information were urged to call police at (831) 420-5820.
"The methodical and calculated steps these extremists took showed blatant disregard for the safety and welfare of our community," Santa Cruz Police Chief Howard Skerry said. "This reward is an important first step toward bringing those involved to justice."
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