Eco-sabotage cases: Jake Ferguson Pleads Guilty

Today, 10/26/07, in the district of Oregon Federal Court in Eugene, Jacob
"Jake" Jeremiah Ferguson entered a change of plea to one count of
attempted arson and one count of arson for a fire at the Detroit Ranger
Station the 28th of October, 1996. The government agreed not to bring
additional charges against Ferguson for the laundry list of crimes in
which he was involved over the past decade, provided that he continue to
cooperate completely in any ongoing or future investigations by federal,
state or local authorities.

Ferguson stood by his attorney, Ed Spinney, wearing a short, black wig,
(or possibly hair implants he paid for with government reward money) and
looking 50 to 100 pounds heavier than in previous photos. Soon after US
Attorney Kirk Engdall read the charges, Ferguson was questioned by Aiken
and told the court he had been on Methadone for the past three and a half
years. Aiken then informed Ferguson of the loss of rights he was agreeing
to by pleading guilty. She then asked Engdall, "I presume there will be
restitution?" (as part of the plea agreement), to which Engdall replied,
"Yes," until corrected by Spinney who clarified that the agreement
included no restitution be paid by Ferguson for his crimes.

Engdall described the charges Ferguson is facing, stating that on each
count he could have faced a maximum of 20 years per count (with 5 year
mandatory minimum) and a $250,000 fine, but that due to his cooperation
the government was asking for a downward departure for substantial
assistance, with a suggested sentence at the low end of Zone A of the
federal sentencing guidelines (0-6 months). By accepting the plea,
Ferguson is required to cooperate with federal, state and local law
enforcement in perpetuity, or have his plea agreement withdrawn. Ferguson
must provide any relevant documents to authorities, and do ANYTHING
required by investigators, including contacting others or providing any
information asked of him. The plea deal that Ferguson signed was dated
September 17th of 2004.

Aiken then asked Ferguson for his plea on the two counts, to which
Ferguson said, "Guilty."

Rather than sentencing him on the spot, Aiken set a sentencing hearing for
January 10th of 2008 to allow time for pre-sentencing reports to be
drafted.