Denver – An Air Force officer accused of vandalizing bumper stickers that support President Bush has been reassigned to a non-supervisory position, a military spokesman said today.
Lt. Col. Alexis Fecteau faces criminal mischief charges for allegedly blacking out Bush bumper stickers on cars at Denver International Airport and then spray-painting an expletive over them.
Fecteau was reassigned on Aug. 10, said Col. Dave Cannon, a spokesman for the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base. Fecteau had been director of operations for reserve forces at the base, supervising 11 full-time and 30 part-time reservists.
Cannon declined to give any further details, citing privacy laws.
Fecteau waived the reading of the charges against him during a hearing today. His lawyer, Patrick Mulligan, said Fecteau was “a highly decorated colonel in the Air Force with 500 combat hours in the Gulf War, Kosovo and Bosnia. Any allegations have to be viewed in that context.” Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Fecteau is suspected of vandalizing at least 10 vehicles at the airport between June and December.
Jackson said police left a bait vehicle at the airport equipped with a camera that recorded an image of a suspect and his car.
Investigators matched the car to footage from a camera monitoring cars leaving the parking lot and traced the license plate to Fecteau, Jackson said.
Fecteau turned himself in and was released on $5,000 bond.
Mulligan declined to answer any questions about his client’s possible motives.
