Tag: Michael Scarpitti

Security Guard Receives $25,000 Reward for Capture of Michael Scarpitti (AKA Tre Arrow)

During the months that Michael Scarpitti (AKA Tre Arrow) was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, the agency offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to Scarpitti’s arrest. On August 23, FBI officials traveled to Victoria, British Columbia, to present a $25,000 check to the security guard who apprehended Scarpitti in Canada.

Security guard Anthony Bunting stopped Scarpitti as the fugitive attempted to steal a pair of bolt cutters from a Canadian Tire store. Scarpitti claimed his name was Joshua Murray, but Canadian police quickly figured out he was, in fact, Scarpitti.

The FBI also presented a number of officers and investigators from various agencies involved in the arrest and identification of Scarpitti letters of recommendation from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller.

Scarpitti is wanted in connection with two Oregon arsons committed by the Earth Liberation Front. Currently the United States is seeking to extradite Scarpitti who has applied for asylum in Canada.

Source:

Tre Arrow arrest brings BC man $25,000 reward. Bend.Com, August 23, 2004.

Michael Scarpitti (aka Tre Arrow) Allowed to Make Case to Remain Refugee in Canada

The Canadian immigration and refugee board ruled in July that Michael Scarpitti (aka Tre Arrow) should be allowed to present his case for refugee status in Canada. Scarpitti is wanted in the United States for the 2001 firebombing of vehicles at an Oregon logging site.

After a two year manhunt, Scarpitti was arrested in British Columbia in March trying to steal a pair of bolt cutters from a hardware store.

Scarpitti contends that he could not receive a fair trial in the United States because the government views him as a domestic terrorist.

If convicted in the United States, Scarpitti could face up to 80 years in jail.

Source:

Arrow’s request for refugee status in Canada accepted. Associated Press, July 30, 2004.

Tre Arrow Wants Refugee Status In Canada

Suspect Earth Liberation Front arsonist Tre Arrow has asked a Canadian immigration panel to grant him refugee status in that country.

Arrow was arrested in March after being caught shoplifting in a Vancouver, British Columbia store. Arrow was indicted in the United States in August 2002 for his alleged role in the firebombing of various vehicles at an Oregon logging site.

In December 2002, Arrow was placed on the FBI’s most wanted list but escaped arrest until his shoplifting escapade. Not surprisingly, he was allegedly trying to steal a pair of bolt cutters.

Apparently, Arrow is claiming that he would be unable to obtain a fair trial in the United States because he has been accused of terrorism — but Arrow is charged with using fire to commit a felony, destroying vehicles used in interstate commerce, and using incendiary devices in a crime of violence.

The first stage in the refugee application process is for the immigration panel to decide whether or not Arrow can be formally admitted into Canada. In order to do so, it must first find that he has no affiliation with organizations such as the Earth Liberation Front or that the Earth Liberation Front is not a terrorist organization.

The hearings in such cases are all held behind closed doors, and hearings in Arrow’s case are not scheduled to resume until June 18.

Arrow could face up to 80 years in jail if convicted of all charges against him in Oregon.

Sources:

Canada reviews Tre Arrow’s refugee claim. Jeremy Hainsworth, KATU.Com, May 31, 2004.

Tre Arrow heads back before Canadian immigration panel. Associated Press, June 10, 2004.

Michael James Scarpitti (AKA Tre Arrow) Remains Loose One Year Later

In August 2002 a Portland, Oregon grand jury indicted Michael James Scarpitti (AKA Tre Arrow) and three others for their role in a June 2001 arson attack at a logging company. Although Scarpitti was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted List in December 2002, so far Scarpitti has eluded capture.

Police in Tigard, Oregon, spent a couple hours in early August searching a wooded area near a mall after a man reported seeing Scarpitti in the area. The witness said he recognized Scarpitti from pictures in the media. The witness said Scarpitti was walking with another man, but the search was called off after two hours without finding the fugitive.

One of Scarpitti’s alleged accomplices, Jacob D.B. Sherman, plead guilty in December 2002 for his role in that and another fire, and will be sentenced in September. He is expected to receive about three-and-a-half years for the arson.

With Scarpitti on the run, Sherman apparently used the Tre-made-me-do-it defense, with The Oregonian reporting that,

Federal court papers indicate that Arrow helped mold Sherman in his likeness, radicalizing the younger man’s environmentalism. And aside from environmental beliefs, Sherman followed Arrow in adopting a vegan diet, shunning bathing and going barefoot.

Scarpitti was apparently in excellent physical health and used to spending days and even weeks at a time in trees to protest logging, so there is some speculation that he may be emulating recently captured fugitive Eric Rudolph in remaining as much as possible in wooded areas where he is less likely to be spotted.

There is a $25,000 reward for anyone who offers information leading to the capture of Scarpitti. People with such information should call their local FBI office.

Sources:

FBI still chasing Tre Arrow. Bryan Denson, The Oregonian, August 11, 2003.

ELF Terrorist Sentenced to Prison

Earth Liberation Front terrorist Jacob Sherman was sentenced to more than three years in prison this month after he plead guilty to the 2001 firebombing of logging trucks and logging equipment in Oregon.

Those fires did $50,000 in damage at Ray A. Schopper Logging and $210,000 in damage at Ross Island Sand & Gravel.

Although the maximum possible sentence was 40 years, the judge in the case was apparently lenient due to Sherman’s cooperation with authorities after his arrest. According to court documents, Sherman began cooperating immediately with authorities and identified Michael Scarpitti aka Tre Arrow as being the ringleader of the group responsible for the arsons.

Scarpitti is currently a fugitive.

Sources:

Fire bombing eco-terrorist sentenced. Associated Press, February 20, 2003.

Eco-terrorist convicted for more than three years in prison. KATU News, February 20, 2003.

Michael James Scarpitti aka Tre Arrow Added to FBI's Most Wanted List

The FBI has added Michael James Scarpitti, aka Tre Arrow, to its December Most Wanted List. Scarpitti is wanted in connection with a series of Earth Liberation Front arsons in Oregon. In its press release announcing Scarpitti’s addition to the list, the FBI said,

Michael James Scarpitti, also known as Tre Arrow, is wanted for his alleged involvement in the deliberate setting of a fire at a sand and gravel company in Portland, Oregon, on April 15, 2001. As a result of the arson, three concrete mixing trucks were damaged by incendiary devices and the damage was estimated to be more than $200,000. Scarpitti was indicted by a federal grand jury in Oregon and charged with four felonies for this crime on October 18, 2002.

Scarpitti is also wanted for his alleged involvement in an arson which occurred at a logging company in Eagle Creek, Oregon, on June 1, 2001. The remains of four incendiary devices were found at the scene along with four unexploded devices. As a result of this incident, two logging trucks and a front loader were damaged. Scarpitti was indicted for this crime by a federal grand jury in Oregon on August 13, 2002.

Scarpitti is a longtime environmental activist with an extensive history of involvement in anti-logging tree sits and other related protests. He is known to be affiliated with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), which is a loosely organized movement whose stated objective is to stop the destruction of the natural environment and the exploitation of the earth’s natural resources through whatever means are necessary. Law enforcement authorities consider the ELF to be a domestic terrorism group.

There is a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Scarpitti. Anyone with information about Scarpitti’s whereabouts should contact their local FBI office.

Source:

Michael James Scarpitti: Wanted By The FBI. Federal Bureau of Investigations, Press Release, December 2002.