FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRM MONDAY, OCOTBER 24, 1994 (202) 616-2771 TDD (202) 514-1888 OREGON WOMAN CHARGED IN ARSON, ACID AND NAPALM ATTACKS ON NINE ABORTION CLINICS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Federal grand juries in Oregon and Eastern California today returned indictments totaling 30 counts against a former Oregon woman in connection with 10 arson and acid attacks at nine abortion clinics in Oregon, California, Nevada and Idaho during 1992 and 1993. Named as defendant is Rachelle Ranae "Shelly" Shannon, 38, a former resident of Grants Pass, Oregon. She currently is serving a 10-year sentence in Kansas on state charges for the attempted murder of Wichita physician George Tiller in 1993. Kristine Olson Rogers, the U.S. Attorney for Oregon, said she would seek to have Shannon brought back to Portland for trial. Shannon faces a separate trial in Sacramento, California. The charges include arson, interference with commerce by force, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering. Shannon is accused of injecting butyric acid, a noxious, foul-smelling substance, into the walls of clinics in Reno, Nevada, and Chico, California, and using napalm in the firebombing of a Sacramento clinic. All of the incidents occurred before the new federal law protecting access to abortion clinics went into effect on May 26, 1994. "Violence against clinics which provide reproductive health services constitutes domestic terrorism," said Charles J. Stevens, U.S. Attorney in Sacramento, California. "Investigating and prosecuting such conduct is a high priority in this office." The following specific incidents are alleged in the California indictment: Arson at the Feminist Womens' Health Center in Redding on June 6, 1992 resulting in at least $70,000 in property damage. Arson at the Feminist Women's Health Center in Sacramento on August 18, 1992, which resulted in damage to the adjacent office of the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners. An acid attack on the Feminist Womens' Health Center in Chico on September 17, 1992. Arson at the Pregnancy Consultation Center in Sacramento on November 28, 1992 that caused more than $175,000 in damage. The Oregon indictment concerns the following incidents: Arson at the Catalina Medical Clinic and the offices of Dr. Willard L. Brown in Ashland on April 11, 1992. Arson at the Lovejoy Surgicenter in Portland on August 1, 1992. Arson at the West End Women's Health Group in Reno, Nevada on August 18, 1992. (Same day as Sacramento attack) Arson at the Feminist Women's Health Center in Eugene on September 16, 1992. (Approximately 2 a.m.) Acid attack on West End Women's Health Group in Reno, Nevada on September 16, 1992. (Same day as above, about 11 hours later, and day before Chico acid attack) Arson at the Women's Health Care Center in Boise, Idaho on May 27, 1993. The Oregon indictment also contains charges in connection with the incidents in California, to which Shannon traveled from her Oregon home. The maximum sentence for each count of arson (6 counts) is 10 years in prison. Because a firefighter was injured during the November 28, 1992 Sacramento incident, the maximum penalty on that count is 20 years. Each count of interference with commerce by force (7 counts) carries a maximum 20-year sentence. Interstate travel in aid of racketeering (7 counts) can result in a maximum of five years for each count. Use of fire in the commission of a federal felony (8 counts) is punishable by a mandatory five-year sentence for the first conviction, with mandatory consecutive terms of 10 years for each subsequent conviction. Use of a destructive device (the jar of napalm) during and in relation to a crime of violence (1 count) carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of 30 years. The maximum penalty for possessing an unregistered destructive device (1 count) is 10 years. U.S. Attorneys Rogers and Stevens said the indictments were the culmination of lengthy investigations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and FBI in Oregon, Idaho and Northern California. U.S. Attorney Stevens said the Redding, Sacramento and Chico Police and Fire Departments provided valuable assistance, and he particularly credited the investigative work of ATF Special Agents Linda E. Benton and David L. McCain. U.S. Attorney Rogers said essential support was provided by ATF Special Agents Cheryl Glenn and John Comery, FBI Special Agents J. Kenneth Moore, Jr., and H. Eugene McMillan, Jr., Oregon State Police Detective Randy Becker, and Ashland Police Detective Lynn Parlette. Further information can be obtained from Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen F. Peifer in Portland at (503) 727-1012 and Patricia Pontello in Sacramento at (916) 551-2745. ##### 94-607