From Churchgoer to Charges as Church Burner
LINDALE, Tex. — Jason R. Bourque grew up in a house full of crosses. At his grandparent’s spacious home here, where he was raised, a small forest of crosses stands on a table by the front door, and one wall of the living room is filled with more than a dozen decorative crosses of wrought iron, ceramic and wood. In a hallway leading to
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Arson Suspect’s Mom Says Her Son Didn’t Do It
The mother of one of the men accused of torching East Texas churches said her son has a relationship with God and she feels the 19-year-old has been falsely accused. Kimberly Bourque talked with the Tyler Morning Telegraph this morning to defend her son and to clear up an earlier report about her being
Atheist books, guns found at home of suspect in East Texas church fires
TYLER – One of two East Texas church arson suspects kept books on demon possession and atheism as well as assault rifles and guns, and may have left graffiti offering inside information about one of the attacks in a local store bathroom, according to court records. Jason Bourque, 19, was under
East Texas Arson Task Force Arrests Two
East Texas Arson Task Force Arrests Two TYLER, Texas – Today, law enforcement members of the East Texas Church Arson Task Force arrested two men in connection with the 10 church arsons that began on January 1, 2010. These fires occurred in the Henderson, Smith and Van Zandt Counties. The two
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2 Suspected Arsonists In Smith County Jail
A long-awaited sigh of relief that area churches and hundreds of law enforcement officials sought finally was realized Sunday with the arrests of two men believed to have torched 10 churches since Jan 1. Though exhausted from weeks of working around the clock, scores of law enforcement men and women
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Texas DPS – Two men arrested in East Texas church arsons
February 21, 2010 Two men arrested in East Texas church arsons Authorities have charged and arrested two men in connection with one of the 10 church arson fires that occurred in East Texas beginning on Jan. 1, 2010. Three other churches were targets of attempted break-ins, and investigators believe those
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DPS: East Texans can rest easier after church arsons arrests
UPDATE 04:19 02/21/2010: During Sunday's press conference, Texas DPS director Steve McCraw said "East Texans can rest easier tonight." Two men have been arrested in the East Texas church arsons case. Authorities say they have now ruled the fire at Little Hope Baptist Church in Canton as
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Church arsons plague East Texas, many coping with uncertainty
TYLER, TX (KLTV) – The East Texas community is still coping with the uncertainty of knowing when and where the next fire will happen. "This is an environment that we're not used to dealing with," said Officer Don Martin with the Tyler Police Department. "We're not used
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Artists analyze arson suspect’s tattoo
LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) – Tattoo artists analyze an interesting set of tattoos said to be on two of the men of interest identified by arson investigators. They are the tattoos of suspects in the East Texas church fires. Body artists contend tattoos do say something about those who wear them, and tattoo
Symbols Attached to Arson
So now, we have some persons of interest, and we have descriptions. But is there any symbolism involved here? One item in the description of two of the young men probably sends up a red flag for a lot of folks. It’s the upside down cross tatoos. But what do they really mean? 9 churches up in
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East Texas Arson Task Force Releases Sketches
East Texas Arson Task Force Releases Sketches TYLER, Texas — Robert Champion, Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), released three composite sketches of individuals that investigators would like to identify and interview
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ATF Releases Church Arson Sketches
During a news conference today law enforcement agencies released three sketches of “persons of interest” in the recent string of church fires in East Texas. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent Robert Champion, who is leading the investigation, said the sketches were taken from eyewitness
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ATF looking for 3 persons of interest in church arsons
TYLER, TX (KLTV) – The East Texas church arson investigators have released sketches of three "individuals of interest." ATF Special Agent Robert Champion the man in charge of the church arson investigation made the announcement Friday morning at a press conference at Tyler's Rose
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Two latest Texas church fires ruled arson
(CNN) — The two latest fires in a string of church blazes in east Texas have been ruled arson, bringing the total of deliberately-set fires to 10, authorities said Thursday. Fires destroyed Dover Baptist Church and Clear Spring Missionary Baptist Church on Monday night. The churches are located
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ATF: More Texas church fires linked to arsonist
DALLAS (AP) — Two rural church fires on the same night in eastern Texas this week were the acts of an arsonist, a federal agent said Wednesday. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reached that conclusion Wednesday in the fires that damaged the Dover Baptist Church and
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