This report appears on the website of Stop Eco-Violence (SEV), a single-purpose anti-ecoterror group based near Portland, Oregon.

SEV NOTE¾ Jacob D.B. Sherman has pled guilty in federal court to charges that he took part in last year’s arson attacks against Schoppert Logging Co. and Ross Island Sand & Gravel, marking a big victory in the fight against eco-terrorism. As pointed out today by Kelly Stoner, SEV’s Executive Director, on KXL’s “The Lars Larson Show” (one of the most popular talk radio programs in Oregon), “The conviction will make would-be eco-terrorists think twice about breaking the law. Plus, it will no longer be so easy for those who talk up eco-terrorism to draw new recruits into the movement under the notion that they won’t get caught.”

A grand jury indicted Sherman and three other suspects earlier this year in the June 2001 firebombing of log trucks belonging to Schoppert Logging Co. The bombing took place amid protests of the Eagle Creek timber sale organized by the Cascadia Forest Alliance. He and fellow activist Michael J. Scarpitti—a radical environmentalist better known as Tre Arrow—were also indicted in the April 2001 arson of three cement trucks at Portland's Ross Island Sand & Gravel.

According to Sherman’s attorney, he has been cooperative with local law enforcement. Sherman, who originally faced up to 40 years in jail, signed a plea bargain requiring a prison sentence of only 41 months—a light sentence compared to that of Jeffrey “Free” Luers, the eco-terrorist who was sentenced for 22 plus-years in 2000 for the first arson attack against Joe Romania Chevrolet in Eugene, Oregon, as well as another attempted firebombing. It is unclear at this time as to what impact Sherman’s plea will have on his co-defendants (one of whom—Tre Arrow—remains a federal fugitive).

A news story providing additional details about the plea bargain follows. Details are highlighted in red.

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Timber Sale Saboteur Says He Started Fires

The Oregonian

By Bryan Denson

December 4, 2002

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An Earth Liberation Front saboteur admitted in federal court Tuesday that he took part in two Oregon arsons last year, marking the first time one of the front's underground operatives has been brought to justice in the West.

Jacob D.B. Sherman, a 20-year-old Portlander who faced about 40 years in prison, signed a plea agreement in U.S. District Court that would allow him to serve 41 months in federal custody. Formal sentencing was set for Feb. 20.

Sherman is one of four people charged with taking part in the June 2001 arson of three logging trucks near Estacada to protest the controversial Eagle Creek timber sale. He and fellow activist Michael J. Scarpitti -- a radical environmentalist better known as Tre Arrow -- also stand accused of the April 2001 arson of three cement trucks at Portland's Ross Island Sand & Gravel.

Scarpitti remains a fugitive.

Andrew Bates, Sherman's lawyer, declined comment on behalf of his client and family. But he issued a statement saying Sherman deeply regretted his actions.

"He never intended to place anyone in harm's way and was only trying to protect our old growth forests and the earth," Bates wrote. "He realizes that, while the protection of our environment is a just cause, his participation in setting these fires was an unacceptable and counterproductive means of protests. The end cannot justify the means."

Sherman's mother wept quietly in the courtroom as U.S. District Judge James Redden explained her son's rights to him.

A group of students from Milwaukie's LaSalle High School, Sherman's alma mater, happened to be in court as part of a class trip to the courthouse. There they witnessed Sherman, Class of 2000, plead guilty to two counts of the Hobbs Act, a federal statute that makes it illegal to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion.

The government agreed to drop six other arson-related charges against Sherman.

The underground Earth Liberation Front, described by the FBI as a domestic terrorist group, has been linked to dozens of serious acts of sabotage across the nation since 1996, including 10 arsons in Oregon and Washington.

The front claimed responsibility for the Easter 2001 arson at Ross Island Sand & Gravel.

"In their Easter baskets we decided to leave four containers with gasoline and a time delayed fuse placed under two of their cement trucks," the front wrote in a claim of responsibility eight days after the Ross Island fire. "Let this be a warning to all the greedy corporations who exploit our Earth's natural resources, especially those who plan on doing it under . . . the title of 'free trade.' "

It remains unclear who wrote the claim of responsibility, which traveled to the Earth Liberation Front press office and was then passed to news media, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Noonan.

Also unclear is what impact Sherman's plea will have on his co-defendants.

Sherman began cooperating with federal agents about one month after his August arrest, Noonan said. While Bates declined comment about the case, he acknowledged in court that his client had given substantial help to the authorities as part of a "long and drawn-out process."

Sherman's cooperation, along with his young age and lack of prior crimes, accounted for the relatively light sentence, Noonan said.

"I think it's an extremely fair sentence given the potential penalties that could have been imposed," he said.

Bryan Denson: 503-294-7614; bryandenson@news.oregonian.com.

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