10-year prison sentence sought in UW horticulture center arson

Federal prosecutors are seeking a 10-year prison sentence for Briana Waters, a California woman convicted in March by a federal grant jury of assisting in the 2001 Earth Liberation Front arson that destroyed the University of Washington's Urban Horticulture Center.

That recommendation includes a "terrorism enhancement," according to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors Wednesday in U.S. District Court. The UW arson sought to strike a blow against genetic engineering of poplar trees, and federal prosecutors say that meets the legal definition of a violent act "calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion," according to the court filing.

Defense attorney Neil Fox, in his own sentencing memorandum, said his client should not be subject to a terrorism enhancement. He asked that a five-year mandatory minimum sentence be partially suspended, and proposed 18 months in prison for Waters' part in the arson that targeted the office of UW poplar researcher Toby Bradshaw.

Fox noted that his client was not convicted of being part of an Earth Liberation Front conspiracy — a charge that prosecutors sought unsuccessfully to prove, and wrote that the UW arson was not an act of terrorism.

"... Simply targeting the research of one person, however misguided and heinous that might be, does not mean that the crime was intended to influence or affect the conduct of the government — the essence of the terrorism enhancement," Fox wrote.

Waters, a violin teacher, maintained her innocence as she took the witness stand in her Tacoma trial. Prosecutors in the Wednesday filing called that testimony "elaborate perjury." Prosecutors also are seeking more than $6 million in restitution.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Monday in Tacoma, with U.S. District Court Judge Franklin Burgess expected to announce Waters' fate.

Waters is one of five people alleged to have participated in the UW arson, which prosecutors say caused more than $6 million in damages to the university. She was convicted of two counts of arson, but not of other charges that included the use of a destructive device in a crime of violence, which carried a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence.

This was the first trial for any of the 18 men and women indicted on charges of involvement in the militant Pacific Northwest underground that between 1996 and 2001 claimed it carried out more than a dozen acts of arson and sabotage against targets deemed a threat to the environment or animals. The attacks caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, and targets included a slaughterhouse, timber-company headquarters and a ski lodge at Vail, Colo.

Twelve other people have reached plea agreements, and, according to court documents, their sentences are expected to range from probation to 13 years in prison.

Those reaching plea agreements included two women who assisted in the UW arson, and were key witnesses for the prosecution at Waters' trial.

Jennifer Kolar's plea agreement is expected to result in a prison term of five to seven years, while Lacey Phillabaum's plea agreement is likely to result in her being sentenced to three to five years in prison.

Hal Bernton: 503-292-1016 or hbernton@seattletimes.com