Race, revenge may have sparked Maryland fires
Monday, December 20, 2004
BY STEPHEN MANNING
Associated Press
LA PLATA, Md. -- Racial animosity and revenge may have been motives in the fires that caused $10 million in damage in Maryland's largest residential arson case, a spokesman for federal investigators said yesterday.
Four men have been charged with arson at the Hunters Brooke development, where fires on Dec. 6 destroyed 10 houses and damaged 16 others. No one was hurt; many of the homes were still under construction.
Michael Campbell, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said investigators are considering revenge and race, along with several other possible motives.
"Two typical motives for arson are revenge and race," Campbell said. "It's something investigators are looking at."
A federal law enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity said two of the four suspects in custody allegedly made racial statements to investigators during questioning.
The suspects are white, and many of the families moving into the development are black.
The official also said that one of the suspects, Jeremy Daniel Parady, was turned down when he tried to get a job with Lennar Corp., the company building the houses south of Washington.
On Saturday, officials arrested Patrick Stephen Walsh, 20, of Fort Washington; Parady, 20, of Accokeek; and Michael McIntosh Everhart, 20, of Waldorf. They were to appear today before a U.S. magistrate judge in Greenbelt.
A fourth person, Aaron L. Speed, 21, who worked for a security company hired to guard the development, is being held until a hearing tomorrow. In statements to investigators, Speed said he was upset his employer didn't show enough sympathy after his infant son died this year.
Monday, December 20, 2004
BY STEPHEN MANNING
Associated Press
LA PLATA, Md. -- Racial animosity and revenge may have been motives in the fires that caused $10 million in damage in Maryland's largest residential arson case, a spokesman for federal investigators said yesterday.
Four men have been charged with arson at the Hunters Brooke development, where fires on Dec. 6 destroyed 10 houses and damaged 16 others. No one was hurt; many of the homes were still under construction.
Michael Campbell, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said investigators are considering revenge and race, along with several other possible motives.
"Two typical motives for arson are revenge and race," Campbell said. "It's something investigators are looking at."
A federal law enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity said two of the four suspects in custody allegedly made racial statements to investigators during questioning.
The suspects are white, and many of the families moving into the development are black.
The official also said that one of the suspects, Jeremy Daniel Parady, was turned down when he tried to get a job with Lennar Corp., the company building the houses south of Washington.
On Saturday, officials arrested Patrick Stephen Walsh, 20, of Fort Washington; Parady, 20, of Accokeek; and Michael McIntosh Everhart, 20, of Waldorf. They were to appear today before a U.S. magistrate judge in Greenbelt.
A fourth person, Aaron L. Speed, 21, who worked for a security company hired to guard the development, is being held until a hearing tomorrow. In statements to investigators, Speed said he was upset his employer didn't show enough sympathy after his infant son died this year.
