Santa Cruz Sentinel
Probe into Santa Cruz animal rights attack stalls; UCSC officials hope
for arrests
Jennifer Squires - Sentinel staff writer
Article Launched: 03/26/2008
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_8700574

The investigation into the attack on the home of a UC Santa Cruz
biomedical researcher last month has stalled, police reported Tuesday.

Detectives are waiting for the FBI to finish the forensic analysis of
a computer confiscated during the investigation, but have no official
suspects, according to police spokesman Zach Friend.

There hasn't been any movement on the case in at least a week and
detectives have not linked the attack to other animal rights protests
at the homes of UC Berkeley and UCLA scientists, police reported.

"In the last week there hasn't been anything," Friend said.

Six animal rights activists -- five wearing masks and one man with a
bullhorn -- protested in front of the researcher's Westside home on
Feb. 24. The demonstration turned violent when the masked protesters
banged on the front door and were confronted by the researcher's
husband.

He was struck on the hand by an unknown object, then chased the
activists off his property while his wife hid their two children and
two of their friends in the kitchen. The family had been hosting a
birthday party.

The group ran to a waiting car and drove away. Later that day, police
traced the car back to a house on the 700 block of Riverside Drive and
raided the home.

Several people connected to the house, including at least three UCSC
students, are considered "persons of interest," according to Friend.
No warrants have been issued.

UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal said he wasn't surprised students
might be involved in the attack.

"There's a good likelihood they were students" he said.

UCSC officials would not disclose if any disciplinary action had been
taken against those students. University spokesman Jim Burns said in
February the students could be subject to a campus disciplinary
process, but that UCSC officials would not begin that process until
the Santa Cruz police investigation concluded.

"[We're] hopeful there will be arrests," Blumenthal said.

Police said Tuesday they have no timeline for the investigation.

"We currently just have a lot of circumstantial evidence," Friend
said. The case largely hinges on the what forensic investigators find
on a computer taken from the Riverside Avenue house during the raid,
according to police.

"We're hopeful that the computer evidence that was seized, when we get
it back from the FBI, may shed some light on what the exact role was
of those inside the home," Friend said.

The Feb. 24 attack followed several reports of animal rights-motivated
graffiti at the homes of at least four UCSC faculty, staff and
graduate students. Similar incidents of vandalism also occurred at the
houses of UC Berkeley scientists in January and February. Arrests have
not been made in those cases either.

Contact Jennifer Squires at 429-2449 or jsquires@santacruzsentinel.com.