Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Three Suspects Arrested In Alabama Church Fires

Three college students were arrested today in connection with 9 of the church fires in west Alabama. Two of the students were from Birmingham Southern College, a Methodist college in Birmingham. The other student was from The University of Alabama, in Birmingham, and had recently transferred from Birmingham Southern.

One of the students arrested said it started as a joke. The trio went to west Alabama on February 2 deer hunting and set the fires there. But, they later set the others as a diversion to the cops, but it didn't work.

I heard on the radio today that one set of parents from Pelham had asked their son if he knew who set the fires, and he said yes, but he didn't have anything to do with it. Turns out, his SUV was the one that was used, and they found it through tire tracks left at one of the churches.

The students face up to 5 years for each of the church fires. Jim Parker, Ashbury Baptist Church pastor, said it was sad what the boys had thrown away. They all had promising lives, but, now they may spend the rest of their lives in prison for what they preceived to be 'only a joke'.

Linked at Conservative Cat

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