Two plead guilty in ecoterrorism fires

Sat., Oct. 2, 2004

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY – Two men pleaded guilty Friday to setting separate fires, at a lumber yard and a university farm building, on behalf of ecoterrorist groups.

Justus A. Ireland, 23, admitted to starting a June fire at a lumberyard in West Jordan.

He said he placed lighted flares under a pallet loaded with cardboard and wood and on the seat of a delivery truck. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million.

He said he spray painted “ELF” around the site and sent a fax to news media claiming responsibility on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front.

In a separate hearing, Joshua Stephen Demmitt, 18, said he started a blaze in July at an animal husbandry building on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, causing $30,000 damage.

Both men pleaded guilty to destruction of property by fire. They face sentences of five to 20 years in prison under plea deals sparing them minimum 25-year terms.

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Two plead guilty in ecoterrorism fires

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