Sheepskin Fire Suspect Has Vegan Militant Ties

Jul 26, 2010
CBS Channel 4 News

The man arrested in the arson at the Sheepskin Factory store in Glendale is well known in the militant vegan movement. There's even a song about him.

In certain circles the man known as "Lone Wolf" has the type of status reserved for folk heroes. Not for a case involving animal rights, but for one in which he claimed he burned down a house belonging to drug dealers.

Arrested as Walter Bond, his real name is Walter Zuehlke of Mason City, Iowa, where he was convicted of arson in case that has given him prominence.

Sporting a vegan tattoo on his neck he is well known in militant circles. News of the arrest in the April 30 Sheepskin Factory fire has gained the attention of animal rights groups. The website "Voice of the Voiceless," the journal of the animal liberation movement, reports Bond received notoriety in an album released last year by a vegan band.

The video and music is by the group Earth Crisis. It's about a man who burns down a drug lab because they wouldn't stop selling to his brother. The song is called "To Ashes." The band is said to be active in the animal liberation movement.

Bond was convicted in Mason City in 1997 for burning down a home. Prosecutors say he claimed it was in retaliation for selling drugs. Thirteen years later he was lured to a Denver hotel by someone he knew from years ago. The friend -- turned informant -- is now eligible for the $25,000 reward.

"Of course we put up a reward asking for those individuals who might have some information to come forward," Marvin Richardson with the Alcohol Tobacco Firearms Bureau said. "As a result of good police work we got some good information that came in."

Bond is also suspected in two Salt Lake City arsons, including a restaurant that serves duck liver.

"To single out this one little item is absurd to me, absolutely absurd," Ken Rose with the Tiburon Restaurant said.

When Bond was arrested, literature called "A Declaration of War" was found in his back pack by federal agents. The subtitle was "Killing People to Save the Animals and the Environment."

No one was killed in any of the three fires that Bond is suspected of setting -- fires that were claimed on the Internet to be started in the name of animals. The signature was "Lone Wolf."

Bond was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the Iowa arson but he was released several years early.