A federal magistrate judge ordered the man suspected of setting an arson fire at Glendale’s Sheepskin Factory to stay in jail until his trial.
Walter Edmund Bond pleaded not guilty this morning to one count of arson of property. Prosecutors say Bond set the fire because it was a business Bond believes “profited from animals.”
At the time of his arrest, Bond was carrying literature titled, “The Declaration of War – Killing People to Save the Animals and the Environment – Strike a Match Light a Fuse We’ve Only Have the Earth to Lose.”
Bond also has a prior arson conviction out of Iowa.
The April 30 fire at the Glendale store caused $500,000 in damages, according to the owners who appeared at Bond’s court hearing.
Bond, 34, of Utah faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted.
