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(CNN) -- Three Birmingham college students were arrested Wednesday in connection with 10 church fires in Alabama last month, state and federal officials said.
One of the suspects said the fires began as a joke that "got out of hand," according to court papers filed Wednesday citing what a witness told investigators.
Two of those arrested were identified as Ben Moseley and Russell Debusk, both 19 and students at Birmingham-Southern College, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. They appeared in federal court in Birmingham late Wednesday morning. (Watch one of the suspects after he was arrested at a college dorm -- 1:12)
The third person -- Matthew Lee Cloyd, a 20-year-old student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham -- was taken into custody later in the day, said federal law enforcement officials.
None of the three men have criminal records.
According to court papers, Cloyd told a witness he and Moseley "had done something stupid."
"Cloyd stated to the witness that Moseley did it as a joke and it got out of hand," according to an affidavit of what the witness told investigators. "Cloyd stated that they set a church on fire."
The affidavit stated that Moseley and Debusk also admitted involvement in the fires.
A set of tire tracks from a green Toyota 4Runner left at four fire scenes helped break the case, said Richard Montgomery, Alabama's state fire marshal.
U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Alabama, offered more details of the police work involved. He said law enforcement officers spent hundreds of hours tracking the tire tread -- which was not from a commonly used tire -- and finally traced it to a tire dealer in Shelby County, Alabama.
The dealer told authorities he had recently special-ordered the tires for a customer, Bachus said, and directed them to the owner of the vehicle, apparently Cloyd. Authorities spoke with him, and he gave them information on the other two suspects, but it was not clear why Cloyd was not arrested at the time.
Arsonists struck the churches between February 3 and February 11; half were destroyed. (Watch churches reduced to smoldering embers -- 2:17)
Of the 10, five were in Bibb County and four in west Alabama. Another church fire in Lamar County on February 11 has been ruled an arson, but investigators haven't determined if it was connected to the others. (See map)
Five of the churches had predominantly white congregations, and five had predominantly black. All were Baptist, the dominant faith in the region, and most were in isolated rural settings.
CNN's Rusty Dornin and David Mattingly contributed to this report.
Hmmm...wishing misfortune upon others. Very Christian of you.theHawk said:Evidently it was a college kid doing it as a "joke"
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/03/08/alabama.churches/index.html
Hope they get some real jail time
Well now they all have a felony record..DUMB ASSES!None of the three men have criminal records.
Hagbard Celine said:Hmmm...wishing misfortune upon others. Very Christian of you.
Hagbard Celine said:Hmmm...wishing misfortune upon others. Very Christian of you.
Avatar4321 said:yeah burning stuff is so funny....
Wonder what they would say if someone burned down their house as a joke.
