TUCSON, Ariz. – LAWFUEL – Press Release Service – John H. Richardson, 51, a journalist for Esquire Magazine, pleaded guilty here last week to the charge of Interfering with a Forest Officer. Richardson was sentenced the same day to time served.
On March 24, 2004, Richardson and members of Earth First!, including Rodney Coronado, 39, of Tucson, Ariz., and Matt Crozier, 33, of Prescott, Ariz., were in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area in the Coronado National Forest and interfered with Arizona Game and Fish and U.S. Forest Service efforts to trap mountain lions. In November 2005, a federal grand jury returned a superceding indictment against Richardson, Coronado and Crozier.
Coronado and Crozier were found guilty by a federal jury in December 2005 and are pending sentencing on July 26, 2006 for Conspiracy to Impede or Injure an Officer of the United States, Interfering with a Forest Officer and Depredation of Government Property.
“This case represents yet another individual who believed that he was above the law. No one’s political views nor their profession grants them immunity from prosecution,” stated U.S. Attorney Paul K. Charlton. Richardson, who was also convicted in state court for criminal nuisance based on charges stemming from the same event, was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge Glenda E. Edmonds on
Monday, June 5, 2006 to a sentence concurrent with that which he received in state court. Richardson spent less than one day in jail.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Forest Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The prosecution was handled by Beverly K. Anderson, Assistant
U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
CASE NUMBER: CR- 04-02404-TUC-DCB(GEE)
RELEASE NUMBER: 2006-100(Richardson)
