Last to be sentenced in UW horticulture center arson given 4 years in prison

June 22, 2012 Seattle Times by Christine Clarridge

A California violin teacher was sentenced this morning to four years in prison for her role in the $6 million arson at the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture in 2001.

Briana Waters, 36, who was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, was given credit for 37 months and will serve the remainder in a federal prison, possibly near her home in California. Both the defense and federal prosecutors had recommend the four-year sentence. Waters may be eligible to serve her last six months in a halfway house

Waters is the last member of a group who called themselves “The Family” to be sentenced for the UW firebombing. Earlier this year, her onetime boyfriend Justin Solondz, 32, was sentenced to six years in prison.

This was the second time Waters appeared before a federal judge for sentencing in the arson. In 2008, a jury convicted Waters of two arson charges and she was sentenced to six years in prison.

Waters appealed and in 2010 a federal appeals court — citing judicial misconduct — granted her a new trial. She was released from prison pending a new trial after serving 37 months.

A year ago, Waters struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty to charges of arson, conspiracy to use a destructive device, possessing an unregistered destructive device and the use of an explosive device in a crime of violence, a crime that could have sent her to prison for 30 years. Waters’ plea was part of a deal with federal prosecutors, who promised to recommend she serve no more time behind bars providing she cooperate with the government’s ongoing domestic-terrorism investigation into the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front.

When she entered her plea, Waters admitted she had lied under oath when she testified to her innocence during her 2008 trial. She said she was among a group of people who planted firebombs in the office of UW professor Toby Bradshaw at the Center for Urban Horticulture.

Bradshaw was targeted because they believed, mistakenly, he was genetically engineering trees.

Waters also admitted, for the first time, that she participated in the October 2001 arson at the Litchfield Wild Burro and Horse Corrals in Susanville, Calif. California prosecutors agreed not to charge her in that case as long as she continued to cooperate with federal authorities.

Waters is one of four activists convicted for their roles in the UW arson, which prosecutors say caused more than $6 million in damage while destroying rare plants, books and years of research. Prosecutors had said Waters helped procure a car and acted as a lookout.

Two other women, Lacey Phillabaum and Jennifer Kolar, pleaded guilty to the arson and were sentenced to three and five years, respectively. Both testified against Waters during her trial.

Also charged in the UW arson was William C. Rodgers, who committed suicide in an Arizona jail in December 2005.

A 1999 graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Waters was among a group who in 1999 perched in Douglas fir trees on Watch Mountain, near the Lewis County town of Randle. The tree-sitters refused to descend from their 150-foot-high perches until they received written assurance the land wouldn’t be traded to Plum Creek Timber.

Months later, the boundaries of the land exchange were reconfigured. About 28,000 acres — roadless lands and old-growth timber — were saved from logging.

Suspect in 2001 UW arson back in U.S.; awaits extradition

July 6, 2011 -- From Seattle Times staff reporter Mike Carter:

The man accused of building the bomb used by Earth Liberation Front (ELF) radicals in 2001 to torch the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture is back in the U.S. and in federal custody, awaiting extradition to Washington state to stand trial.

Justin Solondz, 31, was expelled from the People's Republic of China after serving a three-year prison term for selling drugs.

Solondz was a member of a group of environmental radicals who called themselves "The Family" and was the boyfriend of Briana Waters, 35, who pleaded guilty last month to her role in setting the $6 million blaze and is expected to testify against Solondz in order to avoid any more prison time.

Solondz will appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma for arraignment on charges of arson and conspiracy.

Prosecutors allege that Solondz built the firebombs in a "clean room" behind a home in Olympia, transported them to Seattle and remained in the car as the getaway driver the night of the arson.

Federal investigators say the UW firebombing was part of a string of 17 arsons across the West by ELF and its sister organization, the Animal Liberation Front, responsible for tens of millions of dollars in damage.

Green Scare: Briana Waters pleads guilty, expected to testify against alleged accomplice

June 15, 2011 by Denver Anarchist Black Cross

DABC Note: It appears that we can no longer list Briana Waters as an non-cooperating defendant, as she is now poised to snitch on an alleged accomplice to the UW arson.

From capitalist media:

TACOMA, Wash. — A violin teacher from California admitted she helped set the fire that destroyed the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture.

Briana Waters faced a retrial for the 2001 fire. But on Tuesday she told a federal judge she played a role in the arson at the University of Washington. In May of 2001 members of the Earth Liberation Front set fire to the UW’s Center for Urban Horticulture, causing $6 million in damage. Investigators quickly determined it was no accident.

Originally, Waters said she was innocent and testified to that in her trial, but on Tuesday the 35-year-old mother and musician admitted she was a lookout for the five-person crew.

Her original conviction was thrown out but rather than face trial again — and risk a longer sentence — she accepted a plea deal.

“We’re particularly pleased Ms. Waters, who previously claimed she was innocent… accepted guilt for her crimes in admitting what she did wrong and will now face justice for those crimes,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Friedman.

She’ll likely get a four-year sentence and have to testify against the alleged ringleader of the arson crew, a former boyfriend. He’s in a Chinese jail on a drug conviction but he could be back in the U.S. within a year.

Waters is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 23. She is free on bond until then.

California violin teacher pleads guilty to 2001 UW arson

Briana Waters, the California violin teacher who was facing retrial for her role in the 2001 arson at the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture, pleaded guilty Tuesday to several charges related to the attack.

By Mike Carter Seattle Times June 114, 2o11

TACOMA — For six years, Briana Waters has proclaimed her innocence of allegations that she was part of a group of domestic terrorists responsible for the $6 million arson at the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture in 2001.

Even after her conviction and six-year sentence in 2008, Waters vowed to appeal and insisted she was a peaceful woman who had once directed a documentary about environmentalists and loggers working together in a small Washington town.

Last year, a federal appeals court — citing judicial misconduct — granted her a new trial, and Waters, 35, was released from prison pending a new trial after serving 37 months.

Waters' defiance was gone Tuesday, replaced by a monotone of resignation as she pleaded guilty to charges of arson, conspiracy to use a destructive device, possessing an unregistered destructive device and the use of an explosive device in a crime of violence, a crime that could send her to prison for 30 years.

Waters' plea is part of a deal with federal prosecutors, according to documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, who have promised they will recommend she serve no more time behind bars providing she fully cooperate — and provide new, useful information — with the government's ongoing domestic-terrorism investigation into the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front.

Later this summer, Justin Solondz, Waters' former boyfriend and the purported leader of a cell of radical environmentalists known as "The Family," is expected to be returned to the United States from China, where he's been serving a three-year sentence for drug possession. Waters has agreed to testify against him, according to the plea documents.

Members of The Family and others are believed to have participated in a string of arsons and other sabotage responsible for $80 million in damage in Washington, Oregon, California and Colorado.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle set sentencing for Sept. 23, but Waters agreed she would not object to likely continuances by the government as the Solondz case — and others — move forward. Waters, a violin teacher in Northern California, will remain free on bond until sentencing.

During Tuesday's plea hearing, Waters admitted she had lied under oath when she testified to her innocence during her 2008 trial. She said she was among a group of people who planted firebombs in the office of UW professor Toby Bradshaw at the Center for Urban Horticulture.

Bradshaw was targeted because they believed, mistakenly, he was genetically engineering trees.

Waters on Tuesday also agreed to pay the UW and the state more than $6 million in restitution.

She also admitted, for the first time, that she participated in the October 2001 arson at the Litchfield Wild Burro and Horse Corrals in Susanville, Calif. California prosecutors have agreed not to charge her in that case as long as she continues to cooperate with federal authorities in Washington.

Solondz also has been linked to the California arson.

Waters declined to comment after the hearing in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

Waters is one of five activists alleged to have participated in the UW arson, which prosecutors say caused more than $6 million in damage while destroying rare plants, books and years of research. Prosecutors had said Waters helped procure a car and acted as a lookout.

Jurors had deliberated for four days before convicting Waters of the two arson charges after her 2008 trial. But the jury could not reach unanimous verdicts on conspiracy and two charges involving the firebomb used to set the fire.

Two other women, Lacey Phillabaum and Jennifer Kolar, pleaded guilty to the UW arson and were sentenced to three and five years, respectively. Both testified against Waters.

Also charged in the UW arson were William C. Rodgers, who committed suicide in an Arizona jail in December 2005.

A 1999 graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Waters was among a group who in 1999 perched in Douglas fir trees on Watch Mountain, near the Lewis County town of Randle. The tree-sitters refused to descend from their 150-foot-high perches until they received written assurance the land wouldn't be traded to Plum Creek Timber.

Months later, the boundaries of the land exchange were reconfigured. About 28,000 acres — roadless lands and old-growth timber — were saved from logging.

Woman expected to plead guilty in 2001 UW arson

Briana Waters, who was awaiting a retrial for her alleged role in the 2001 Earth Liberation Front arson attack on the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture, is expected to plead guilty to federal charges next week.

By Mike Carter Seattle Times June 8, 2011

A California woman who is awaiting a retrial for her alleged role in the 2001 Earth Liberation Front arson attack on the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture is expected to plead guilty to federal charges next week.

Briana Water's change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton. It comes as the Department of Justice prepares for the return of her one-time boyfriend and the attack's alleged ringleader, Justin Solondz, who faces extradition from China, where he's spent the last three years in prison on drug charges.

Waters, a 34-year-old violin teacher from San Francisco, was convicted in 2008 and sentenced to six years in prison in 2008 for her role in the arson at the center, which caused an estimated $6 million in damage. Waters allegedly helped secure the car used by the group and was a lookout the night the fire was set.

She was acquitted of or the jury couldn't decide on several other charges, including a count of manufacturing a destructive device, which carried a mandatory 30-year prison sentence.

However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the conviction last year, saying her trial before U.S. District Judge Frank Burgess, now deceased, was riddled with judicial errors. The appeals-court judges said that, while the evidence against Waters may have been sufficient for a conviction, "our review of the record does not leave us convinced that her conviction was fairly obtained."

The government has since moved toward a retrial and Waters has been home after she was released pending her retrial.

Details of the plea arrangement were not immediately available.

Waters' attorney, Neil Fox, acknowledged a plea agreement was pending, but said he could not discuss the specifics. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle did not immediately return telephone messages for comment.

Waters was reportedly part of a five-member Earth Liberation Front (ELF) cell that conspired to burn the center down. Prosecutors say it was part of an ELF-sponsored spree of arson attacks throughout the West from 1996 to 2001.

Damage to targets that included a slaughterhouse, timber-company headquarters and a ski lodge at Vail, Colo., was estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.

Two other women, Lacey Phillabaum and Jennifer Kolar, pleaded guilty to the UW arson and were sentenced to three and five years, respectively. Both testified against Waters.

Also charged in the UW arson were William C. Rodgers, who committed suicide in December 2005 in an Arizona jail, as well as Solondz. Solondz, who was on the FBI's most-wanted list, was a fugitive until his arrest in Dali, China, in 2009.

Michael Nance, the attorney appointed to represent Solondz in the U.S. proceedings, said he did not know when his client would be returned to the U.S., but suggested it would be "in the near, or relatively near, future."

Briana Waters Reindicted

Feb. 1, 2011 Earth First! Newswire

On January 26, 2011, Briana Waters was re-indicted in a 9 count indictment
which also served as a superseding indictment for Joseph Dibee, Josephine
Overaker, and Justin Solondz. Briana is accused of: conspiracy to commit
offense or defraud the US, possessing an unregistered firearm, arson of a
building used in interstate commerce or in activity affecting interstate
commerce, using a destructive device during a crime of violence, and arson
of a building belonging to an institution receiving federal financial
assistance. The use of a destructive device charge alone carries a 30 year
minimum sentence. Trial is currently set for June 27, 2011 ­ although this
date will almost certainly be pushed back. For more information on Briana
and how you can help, please visit: http://supportbriana.org/

On Wednesday, September 15, 2010 the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Briana's
conviction and remanded for a new trial. The
opinion of the three-judge panel was unanimous.

Excerpted from the Panel's opinion: "Having
reviewed the record of the proceedings below, we
conclude that Waters' trial suffered from a
number of errors. Because the government has not
convinced us that Waters' verdict was unaffected
by those errors, we reverse her conviction and '
remand for a new trial."

Briana's Appeals Attorney, Dennis Riordan, of San
Francisco, petitioned the Court for Briana's
immediate release, and the prosecution responded,
opposing the petition. For more details of the
Court's decision:
http://blogs.eugeneweekly.com/content/new-trial-ecoactivist-briana-waters

On Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals granted Briana's
petition for Bail ("Bail" means release upon
condition. Briana's condition is that she appear
in Court when required to do so. No bail money
was set for her release). Thanks to the
fast-working staff at Dennis Riordan's office
(Briana's appeals attorney) the paperwork for her
release was processed by the BOP with surprising
speed. By 11:30 AM on Thursday, October 14th,
Briana was released from the Danbury prison! To
make this wonderful day even better, the stars
aligned... the visit of Briana's family coincided
with the day of her release, so they were there
to pick her and reunite with her. It was an
amazing stroke of timing, because their visit has
been planned back in August, before she had even
won her appeal. Information about winning the appeal is below.
---
About Briana

Briana Waters is a devoted and loving mother of
her four-year-old daughter. She is a professional
musician and violin teacher based in Oakland,
California. On March 15, 2006, she was falsely
accused of participating in a politically
motivated arson which took place at the University
of Washington in May 2001.

Briana steadfastly maintains her innocence. She
is a peaceful woman who believes in non-violence.
In 2001, she directed a documentary, entitled
Watch, which tells the moving true story of a
peaceful campaign that built a coalition between
environmentalists, loggers, and the residents of
Randle, Washington to save the old-growth forest
on Watch Mountain.

Briana's family, friends, and supporters were
heartbroken and left in disbelief when a federal
jury found her guilty of two counts of arson on
March 6, 2008. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
denied Briana's request for release on bail
pending appeal in early July, 2008. In August of
2008, Briana was transferred from SeaTac in
Washington State to the Danbury, Connecticut
Federal Correctional Institution where she was
designated to serve a six year sentence.