3 set church fires as joke, agents say

College students arrested, being held without bond

Thursday, March 09, 2006

CAROL ROBINSON and VAL WALTON

News staff writers

Three Birmingham college students charged in a spree of church burnings set the first two fires at rural Baptist churches "as a joke" and, thrilled by the sound of firetrucks, torched three more, investigators say.

Four days later, on Feb. 7, four more churches were burned in an attempt to distract investigators, a federal complaint says.

Russell Lee DeBusk Jr., 19, of Hoover and Benjamin Nathan Moseley, 19, of Grayson Valley, both students at Methodist-affiliated Birmingham-Southern College, were arrested early Wednesday at the college campus and are being held in federal custody without bond.

The third suspect, UAB junior pre-med student Matthew Lee Cloyd, 20, of Indian Springs, was arrested at his apartment Wednesday afternoon. He too is being held without bond.

Hundreds of investigators combed through about 1,000 leads, interviewed 1,500 people and inspected 500 cars since the first fires. But the break came down to a set of tires on Cloyd's vehicle.

Tire tracks said to be from BF Goodrich All Terrain TA KO tires were found at six churches.

A search of records at Pelham's Cahaba Tire led agents to Kimberly Cloyd, who told agents she bought the tires for a 2000 Toyota 4Runner driven by her son.

Cloyd first told his mother he wasn't involved but knew who did it, according to federal court records. When questioned by his father, Michael, the younger Cloyd said he knew who did it and that he was there.

The first series of fires damaged two churches and destroyed three in Bibb County. The second series destroyed four churches across Pickens, Sumter and Greene counties. A 10th fire, Feb. 11 in nearby Lamar County, was determined to accidental, investigators said Wednesday. All the churches were Baptist.

`Hearts are broken':

Word of the arrests spread quickly, including to leaders at the burned churches. "These young men had great potential," said the Rev. Jim Parker, pastor of Ashby Baptist Church. "Our hearts are broken for the families and we're deeply saddened for these young men.

"They can't escape this. Somebody's going to want a justification for all the federal resources spent on this case. A slap on the wrist is not going to get it done."

Cloyd, whose father is a St. Vincent's Hospital physician, graduated from Oak Mountain High School with honors and attended Birmingham-Southern before transferring to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2005. His profile on the Facebook Web site has references to hunting, drinking and running from police.

DeBusk, a theater major on scholarship, was described by friends as studious and funny and someone who could settle disputes.

Friends described Moseley as charismatic and said he played lead roles in campus drama productions. He was a guitar-playing front man for a college band. The 2004 graduate of Clay-Chalkville High School was the student body president, voted funniest in the class, and was homecoming king.

Suspended and banned:

Birmingham-Southern President David Pollick announced that DeBusk and Moseley had been suspended and banned from campus. Pollick pledged to "aid in the rebuilding of these lost churches through our resources and our labors" but said it was too early to determine what form that aid would take.

Jim Cavanaugh, regional director for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives who headed an arson task force that included 250 federal, state and local investigators, was emotional after Wednesday's arrests.

"I certainly still feel hurt for all the churches that lost their historic buildings," Cavanaugh said. "I think I'm a little bit sad for the families of all these arrested today. I feel great for Alabama and I feel relieved for America."

The three young men were charged in a two-count federal complaint with conspiracy and burning Ashby Baptist Church in Bibb County. Their case must now go before a grand jury or a magistrate judge at a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is probable cause for the charges to remain.

They will return to court Friday for a detention hearing to determine if they can be released on bail. The three, if convicted, face five to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. They could also face additional federal and state charges.

Records report admission:

According to federal records, Moseley admitted to federal agents Tuesday that he, Cloyd and DeBusk went to Bibb County and set the fires.

"Moseley said that after they set fire to the first two churches, they saw firetrucks driving by," the federal affidavit said. "Moseley said that after that, burning the other three churches became oo spontaneous."

Federal authorities ruled out the possibility of a hate crime or civil rights violations.

"After they lit the first two fires, it became spontaneous. Excitement, thrill was the motive," Cavanaugh said.

An unnamed witness in federal records quoted Cloyd as saying Moseley "did it as a joke, and it got out of hand," according to the affidavit signed by ATF agent Walker Johnson.

DeBusk admitted to agents that he was at all five Bibb County church fires and kicked in the door on two churches. DeBusk said the three went to Bibb County to hunt deer, according to the affidavit.

U.S. marshals ushered DeBusk and Moseley into federal court Wednesday morning. DeBusk wore an orange, hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans; Moseley had on a turquoise polo shirt and blue jeans.

Before leaving the courtroom, DeBusk and Moseley shook their heads "no" when the judge asked if they had questions.

Later Wednesday, Cloyd, dressed in a black T-shirt and blue jeans, made his initial appearance accompanied by three lawyers.

All three suspects were transferred from the Birmingham federal courthouse to the Shelby County jail.

News staff writers Gigi Douban, Troy Goodman, Tom Spencer, Carla Crowder and Tom Gordon contributed to this report. crobinson@bhamnews.com



3 set church fires as joke, agents say College students arrested, being held without bond Thursday, March 09, 2006 CAROL ROBINSON and VAL WALTON News staff writers Three Birmingham college students charged in a spree of church burnings set the first two fires at rural Baptist churches "as a joke" and, thrilled by the sound of firetrucks, torched three more, investigators say. Four days later, on Feb. 7, four more churches were burned in an attempt to distract investigators, a federal complaint says. Russell Lee DeBusk Jr., 19, of Hoover and Benjamin Nathan Moseley, 19, of Grayson Valley, both students at Methodist-affiliated Birmingham-Southern College, were arrested early Wednesday at the college campus and are being held in federal custody without bond. The third suspect, UAB junior pre-med student Matthew Lee Cloyd, 20, of Indian Springs, was arrested at his apartment Wednesday afternoon. He too is being held without bond. Hundreds of investigators combed through about 1,000 leads, interviewed 1,500 people and inspected 500 cars since the first fires. But the break came down to a set of tires on Cloyd's vehicle. Tire tracks said to be from BF Goodrich All Terrain TA KO tires were found at six churches. A search of records at Pelham's Cahaba Tire led agents to Kimberly Cloyd, who told agents she bought the tires for a 2000 Toyota 4Runner driven by her son. Cloyd first told his mother he wasn't involved but knew who did it, according to federal court records. When questioned by his father, Michael, the younger Cloyd said he knew who did it and that he was there. The first series of fires damaged two churches and destroyed three in Bibb County. The second series destroyed four churches across Pickens, Sumter and Greene counties. A 10th fire, Feb. 11 in nearby Lamar County, was determined to accidental, investigators said Wednesday. All the churches were Baptist. `Hearts are broken': Word of the arrests spread quickly, including to leaders at the burned churches. "These young men had great potential," said the Rev. Jim Parker, pastor of Ashby Baptist Church. "Our hearts are broken for the families and we're deeply saddened for these young men. "They can't escape this. Somebody's going to want a justification for all the federal resources spent on this case. A slap on the wrist is not going to get it done." Cloyd, whose father is a St. Vincent's Hospital physician, graduated from Oak Mountain High School with honors and attended Birmingham-Southern before transferring to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2005. His profile on the Facebook Web site has references to hunting, drinking and running from police. DeBusk, a theater major on scholarship, was described by friends as studious and funny and someone who could settle disputes. Friends described Moseley as charismatic and said he played lead roles in campus drama productions. He was a guitar-playing front man for a college band. The 2004 graduate of Clay-Chalkville High School was the student body president, voted funniest in the class, and was homecoming king. Suspended and banned: Birmingham-Southern President David Pollick announced that DeBusk and Moseley had been suspended and banned from campus. Pollick pledged to "aid in the rebuilding of these lost churches through our resources and our labors" but said it was too early to determine what form that aid would take. Jim Cavanaugh, regional director for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives who headed an arson task force that included 250 federal, state and local investigators, was emotional after Wednesday's arrests. "I certainly still feel hurt for all the churches that lost their historic buildings," Cavanaugh said. "I think I'm a little bit sad for the families of all these arrested today. I feel great for Alabama and I feel relieved for America." The three young men were charged in a two-count federal complaint with conspiracy and burning Ashby Baptist Church in Bibb County. Their case must now go before a grand jury or a magistrate judge at a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is probable cause for the charges to remain. They will return to court Friday for a detention hearing to determine if they can be released on bail. The three, if convicted, face five to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. They could also face additional federal and state charges. Records report admission: According to federal records, Moseley admitted to federal agents Tuesday that he, Cloyd and DeBusk went to Bibb County and set the fires. "Moseley said that after they set fire to the first two churches, they saw firetrucks driving by," the federal affidavit said. "Moseley said that after that, burning the other three churches became oo spontaneous." Federal authorities ruled out the possibility of a hate crime or civil rights violations. "After they lit the first two fires, it became spontaneous. Excitement, thrill was the motive," Cavanaugh said. An unnamed witness in federal records quoted Cloyd as saying Moseley "did it as a joke, and it got out of hand," according to the affidavit signed by ATF agent Walker Johnson. DeBusk admitted to agents that he was at all five Bibb County church fires and kicked in the door on two churches. DeBusk said the three went to Bibb County to hunt deer, according to the affidavit. U.S. marshals ushered DeBusk and Moseley into federal court Wednesday morning. DeBusk wore an orange, hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans; Moseley had on a turquoise polo shirt and blue jeans. Before leaving the courtroom, DeBusk and Moseley shook their heads "no" when the judge asked if they had questions. Later Wednesday, Cloyd, dressed in a black T-shirt and blue jeans, made his initial appearance accompanied by three lawyers. All three suspects were transferred from the Birmingham federal courthouse to the Shelby County jail. News staff writers Gigi Douban, Troy Goodman, Tom Spencer, Carla Crowder and Tom Gordon contributed to this report. crobinson@bhamnews.com © 2006 The Birmingham News © 2006 al.com All Rights Reserved.