|
Comment on this article |
View comments |
Email this Article
|
|
News :: Crime & Police |
|
Hippie Joe "Person Of Interest" In Holocaust Museum Arson Probe |
Current rating: 0 |
by Karin Grunden/repost of local interest
(No verified email address) |
26 Nov 2003
|
Former local man arrested in Terre Haute, Indiana on weapons charge
According to the Karin Grunden of the Tribune-Star, Indianapolis:
"Without being asked, he added, 'I have nothing to do with the CANDLES Museum fire. I'm completely innocent of it.'" |
|
IN CUSTODY: Joseph C. Stockett, also known as "Hippie Joe," is whisked away Friday evening by federal agents after an undercover operations ended on Oak near Seventh Street. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
November 25, 2003
Police investigating an arson at the Holocaust Museum in Terre Haute arrested a man with anti-Semitic beliefs who has a prison record for setting fire to an abortion clinic, according to court records and other sources.
Joseph Stockett, 57, appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
He was arrested Friday near Seventh and Oak streets. He had been living in Terre Haute for about six weeks.
Stockett has not been arrested or charged in connection with the fire Nov. 18 at the CANDLES Museum at 1532 S. Third St., and he told the Tribune-Star on Monday he had "nothing to do with it."
Court papers filed in connection with his weapons arrest and interviews with those who know Stockett portray a man with a disturbing history of extremist views.
According to a court affidavit filed in connection with Stockett's firearms arrest, the informant had contacted police Thursday, saying he thought he knew who may be responsible for the fire.
The informant said Stockett expressed anti-Jewish views and was trying to recruit people into a neo-Nazi organization, according to the affidavit.
Stockett allegedly provided the informant with documents reflecting such views, along with a business card for an anti-Jewish organization.
In addition, the informant said Stockett days earlier had given him a book called "Hitler's Second Book, The Unpublished Sequel To Mein Kampf." The book had been checked out from the Vigo County Public Library -- and according to online library records was still checked out on Monday.
The informant said Stockett mentioned that whoever spray-painted "Remember Timmy McVeigh" on the side of the burned museum on the night of the arson had used "Timmy" instead of "Timothy" to mislead police.
Stockett also said he had never seen the building that houses the CANDLES Holocaust museum, the affidavit by Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms agent Michael Vergon indicates.
According to the informant, Stockett had a car he needed to get rid of quickly.
On Friday, police wired the informant and taped a conversation with Stockett. During the taped conversation, the informant bought Stockett's car for $375 and a handgun. Police then moved in and arrested Stockett on the firearms charge as he was leaving the informant's apartment, with the weapon concealed on him, the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, an ADT store surveillance camera located a block north of the museum showed a light-colored, four-door sedan speeding away from the area just before midnight on Nov. 17, about the time of the fire.
"The car [Stockett sold] appears similar to the car depicted in the surveillance images," police say in the court affidavit. The affidavit also states the "quality of the images [in the tape] was insufficient to positively identify the car."
Stockett's record indicates he set fire to a building occupied by Planned Parenthood in Eugene, Ore. He was sentenced to five years for second-degree arson in March 1976, court records indicate.
In Indianapolis on Monday, Stockett acknowledged he set the fire in Eugene as a protest to an intrauterine device that had injured his then-girlfriend. He said he set the blaze to protect women.
In September 2002, Stockett was arrested in Champaign, Ill., where he lived before coming to Terre Haute. During a February bench trial, he was found not guilty of a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, online court records show.
While his case was pending, Stockett contacted the student group Anti-War, Anti-Racism Group known as AWARE and asked for help with his case, members said Monday.
According to former AWARE member Robert Dunn, Stockett -- known both as "anti-Semitic Joe" and "Hippie Joe" -- was arrested when he threatened a female Jewish student near the University of Illinois campus.
When AWARE members decided not to get involved, Stockett accused the group of "being controlled by homosexual Jews," Dunn said Monday in an e-mail message.
Al Kagan, who is still involved with AWARE, remembers receiving a rambling voice mail message from Stockett after the decision.
Kagan said the message included anti-Semitic references that were "pretty disgusting and pretty upsetting."
Max Compton, a neighbor, remembers Stockett spent a lot of time at the library and brought home literature on racism and Nazis.
"To me they were very weird books," Compton said Monday as he puffed on a cigarette, leaning back on the couch inside his Swan Street apartment. "He didn't like Jews. He didn't like blacks. ... That's all those books were about."
Compton, who described Stockett as a "throwback to the '60s" said the eccentric man frequently wore tie-dyed T-shirts and liked to occasionally drink and smoke marijuana.
Stockett lived alone and appeared to be pleased with his apartment, which he paid with his disability check.
"He said he lived in a car, in a tent for a while," Compton said of his Swan Street neighbor who moved to Terre Haute about six weeks ago.
While Compton overall thought of Stockett as a nice guy, he -- like others who knew the man -- had concerns about his mental stability.
On Monday, Terre Haute police Capt. Rick Erney described Stockett as "just an interesting person that's emerged" in the case, Erney said, explaining the investigation is continuing. "We haven't ruled anyone out."
The museum fire is believed to have started with gasoline after a brick was thrown through a window. The blaze heavily damaged the museum at 1532 S. Third St. run by Auschwitz survivor Eva Kor, and her husband Michael, who survived Nazi concentration camps.
If convicted of the firearms charge, Stockett could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison and fined up to $250,000, Lawrence said.
He is scheduled to return to court Dec. 1 for a probable-cause hearing and detention hearing. Federal authorities believe Stockett should be jailed until his trial, based on statements he made on Friday during an undercover investigation, according to court documents
On Monday, as he was led from the federal courtroom, Stockett said he was framed.
"I was set up ... by the ATF," he said.
Without being asked, he added, "I have nothing to do with the CANDLES Museum fire. I'm completely innocent of it."
Staff writer Melissa Vogt contributed to this report.
Karin Grunden can be reached at (812) 231-4214 or karin.grunden (at) tribstar.com
Copyright © 2003 Tribune Star
http://www.tribstar.com |
|
Re: Hippie Joe "Person Of Interest" In Holocaust Museum Arson Probe |
by Mark
mark_bauthe (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
17 Nov 2005
|
All of these negative articles about Joseph Stockett are just trumped up lies and worthless acusations against an innocent man. I support Mr. Stockett and will support him should he ever run for elective office.
Only the filth from the Bush administration, or rabid zionist traitors would attack the wonderful 'Hippie Joe' anti-war activist. |
