Church arson 'a joke'

2006-03-08 22:59

Birmingham - Three college students were arrested Wednesday in a string of arson attacks on nine rural Alabama churches last month that allegedly were set first as "a joke" and later as a diversion, federal agents said.

Benjamin Nathan Moseley and Russell Lee Debusk jun - both students at Birmingham-Southern College - appeared in federal court on Wednesday and were ordered held on church arson charges pending a hearing on Friday.

Matthew Lee Cloyd, 20-year-old junior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was arrested later on Wednesday, spokesperson Artur Davis said.

"While all three are entitled to have their day in court, we are very hopeful that this is the end to the fear that has been rampant in West Alabama," Davis said.

The arrests came in a probe of arsons at five Baptist churches on February 3 and four on February 7.

A witness quoted Cloyd as saying Moseley did it "as a joke and it got out of hand".

Moseley said the four fires in west Alabama were set "as a diversion to throw investigators off", an attempt that "obviously did not work", the affidavit said.

A 10th rural Baptist church that caught fire has been ruled arson, but is not believed to be connected to the others.

- AP