Judge orders UW arsonist to remain in jail until May 30 sentencing

A magistrate judge this afternoon ordered convicted arsonist Briana Waters to continue to be held in jail pending her May 30 sentencing after federal prosecutors claimed she had been involved in another Earth Liberation Front arson at a horse ranch in California.

The U.S. Attorney's Office filed court documents that alleged Waters participated in that fire in hopes of ensuring a lengthy prison sentence for her conviction on two counts of arson stemming from a May 2001 fire at the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture.

Waters was convicted by a federal jury in Tacoma last week following four days of deliberations. The jury deadlocked on the most serious charges, involving the use of an explosive device, that could have landed her in prison for a minimum of 30 years.

Waters, 32, a violin teacher who now lives in Oakland, Calif. with her 3-year-old daughter, faces at least five years in prison for the arson convictions, although a judge could order her held for up to 20 years.

Waters' attorneys asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelly Arnold to release Waters pending her May 30 sentencing, saying she fits an exception to a requirement that felons convicted of violent crimes be detained.

Waters, they said in lengthy court briefs, poses no flight risk and that separating her from her daughter is a hardship she should not have to endure, particularly given the jury's inability to reach unanimous verdicts on the most serious charges facing her.

"Despite facing a 35-year mandatory minimum sentence, Ms. Waters appeared on time at every court date," wrote defense attorneys Robert Bloom and Neil Fox.

They pointed out that two other defendants in the UW fire case who pleaded guilty to arson-related crimes — Lacey Phillabaum and Jennifer Kolar — both were released after their pleas. Both cooperated with the government and testified against Waters. Other defendants in similar ELF cases who cooperated also avoided pre-sentencing detention, they say.

"Briana Waters is the only defendant in any of these cases as to whom the government has made a motion for a 'post-guilty finding' detention order," the lawyers argued.

Prosecutors have said they will ask for a "significantly longer" term than that five-year minimum for Waters and say now for the first time in court documents filed this week that they will show that Waters was involved in another arson at the Litchfield Wild Horse and Burro Ranch in Susanville, Calif., just three weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Prosecutors said the alleged architect of that fire — Stanislas Meyerhoff "would testify that Waters participated in the arson," according to court documents.

Meyerhoff, whose 13-year prison sentence is the longest being served by any member of the Earth Liberation Front, is the fiancé of Phillabaum, whose testimony was key in Waters' conviction, according to trial testimony.

Defense attorneys have challenged Meyerhoff's credibility, arguing that he failed to identify Waters during an FBI debriefing. But prosecutors say "Mayerhoff has described someone who matches Waters' description as participating in the arson and subsequently has identified another picture of Waters," the documents say.