Federal Jury Found Woman Guilty of Two Counts of Arson at UW

A woman was found guilty by a federal jury Thursday, of two counts of arson for acting as lookout in the 2001 burning of the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture by members of the radical Earth Liberation Front.

Briana Waters, 32, had been charged with five criminal counts, including conspiracy and use and possession of a destructive device. The jury deadlocked on these counts, for which the penalty could have been at least 35 years in jail. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Barlett said that prosecutors will announce within a week whether they will retry Waters on the deadlocked counts.

Now Waters faces five to 20 years in prison, the Associated Press informs. Five people were charged seven years ago for the UW arson. Only Waters was trialed; two of the respondents pleaded guilty, and testified against Waters hoping their sentences would be reduced. One of the defendants became a fugitive, while the fourth committed suicide after he was arrested.

A violin teacher from Oakland, Waters has a three-year-old daughter, Kalliope, who has been frequently referred to throughout the trial. During the trial that lasted 3 1/2 weeks, Waters was accused by the prosecutors of having provided a rental car to take the arsonists to the UW on May 21, 2001. She was also accused of being the lookout.

The witnesses also said that Waters had taken part in planning the arson, and that the bombs were built by Waters’ then-boyfriend in the garage of a house in Olympia rented by Waters, Seattle Post Intelligencer reports.

The 2001 arson at the UW’s Center for Urban Horticulture was carried out by the environmentalist activists as they wrongly believed that it contained genetically engineered poplar trees. Samples of rare and endangered plants were destroyed by the flames. The rebuilding of the research center cost the University $7 million.

Waters will remain in the custody of the U.S. marshals until her sentencing in May.