SUNBURY — Federal Bureau of Investigation officials say two
Massachusetts residents involved in the Oct. 19 release of hundreds of
mink in Northumberland County are tied to anarchist groups in New
England.
Pennsylvania State Police also believe one was paid $50,000 to come to
Sunbury and release the animals.
According to an amended criminal complaint filed by Stonington state
police, Christopher Legere, 25, and Cara Mitrano, 27 are connected to
“Firehouse,” and “Collective A Go Go,” anarchist communes located in
Worcester, Massachusetts, law enforcement officials said. Police say
the pair released 683 minks from Richard Stahl Fur Farm, outside of
Sunbury, early on Oct. 19.
Troopers say they intercepted Northumberland County Jail phone calls
where Legere claims he was promised $50,000, according to a criminal
complaint.
District Attorney Michael O’Donnell amended the charges and has added
felony eco-terrorism, burglary, theft by unlawful taking, criminal
mischief, corrupt organizations, and misdemeanor counts of agricultural
trespass on posted land, recklessly endangering another person,
accident involving damage, loitering and prowling at nighttime and
conspiring in unwarranted detention, according to court documents.
Police began an investigation into the second incident on the farm in a
little more than a year when they were called to the farm early on Oct.
19. Police spoke to members of the Stahl family, who said they took
pictures of the suspect’s vehicle as members of the fur farm attempted
to block the road so the suspects couldn’t leave, police said.
The suspects tried to flee the scene once, troopers said, and when they
were located, the vehicle they were in accelerated toward one of the
Stahl’s vehicles, damaging it before fleeing south on Airport Road,
troopers said.
The Stahls followed the vehicle and watched it turn onto Seven Points
Road, then onto Captain Bloom Road, where one of the Stalls saw a
backpack, work gloves and a dark sweatshirt being tossed from the
fleeing vehicle, troopers said.
Ralpho Township police became aware of the vehicle and made a traffic
stop soon after the incident, troopers said. The vehicle was towed from
the scene, police said.
A hand-drawn map and directions were seized from Mitrano’s front pant
pocket, troopers said.
After executing a search warrant signed by a Northumberland County
judge, troopers said they recovered a wire-cutting tool, two stickers
that read “policy proposal” depicting a police car on fire. Also found
were work gloves, a lockpicking kit, a map and directions, with an “X”
on Airport Road where Mitrano and Legere were going to park and an
arrow illustrating where to walk through the woods to the mink farm,
police said.
Both are being held in lieu of $150,000 cash bail and will appear in
front of Sunbury District Judge Rachel Wiest-Benner on Tuesday morning
for a preliminary hearing.
This was the second time in just more than a year the fur farm was
struck by vandals. Thousands of mink were released in September 2023.
O’Donnell would not say if the two incidents were related.
In the 2023 incident, Joseph Buddenberg, a press officer with the North
American Animal Liberation Press Office, said he believed the farm was
targeted. According to the website, [1]animalliberationpressoffice.org,
an anonymous letter was posted to the site claiming responsibility for
the attack.
References
1.
http://animalliberationpressoffice.org/
