Man charged in 2001 UW arson pleads guilty

A man accused of helping burn down the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Tacoma to arson and conspiracy charges.

Dec. 21, 2011 Associated Press

TACOMA, Wash. —

A man accused of helping burn down the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Tacoma to arson and conspiracy charges.

Justin Solondz expects a seven-year prison sentence as part of a deal with prosecutors.

KOMO Radio reports sentencing is set for March 16.

Prosecutors say Solondz built the firebombs that started the $6 million blaze in 2001 in Seattle. Solondz was arrested in Chicago last summer following his expulsion from China, where he had been serving a prison sentence on drug charges.

The UW fire was part of a string of 17 arsons across the West by radical environmental groups, the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front. Fourteen other people have been convicted of crimes related to the fires.

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Information from: KOMO-AM, http://www.komoradio.com/