Three convictions in firebombing of professor’s home
File photo: Assistant professor Beth Kivel poses on the porch of her Oak Park home in January of 2006 where an incendiary device left a mark on the wall. Richard Delton Collins, 46; Tausha Marie Newsome, 35; and Rashikendra “Kenny” Prasad, 26, were sentenced to three years in prison after pleading no contest to possession of illegal explosives in connection with the firebombing.:
March 3, 2007
Three individuals accused of firebombing an Oak Park residence in January 2006 have been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading no contest to possession of illegal explosives.
Suspects Richard Collins, 46, Tausha Newsome, 35, and Rashikendra Prasad, 26, were arrested on Jan. 15, 2006, for the firebombing of Beth Kivel, Sacramento State recreation and leisure studies professor.
At the time of the attack, Kivel and her partner were asleep in their Oak Park home. Kivel was awoken by the loud thud of a Molotov cocktail against her front porch and found that her front porch was on fire.
The motivation for the attack remains unclear.
The identification, apprehension and subsequent conviction of the suspects was the result of a concerted effort between the Sacramento police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
“Firebombing is a violent crime,” Special Agent in charge of the A.T.F.’s San Francisco division, Stephen Martin, said in a press release. “The firebombing of a home is a crime that demands justice. With the assistance of a witness, the technology of DNA, and the tenacious efforts of investigators, justice was served.”
Sacramento Chief of Police Albert Najera praised the cooperative work done on the case. “This case highlights the effectiveness and importance of cooperation between federal and local law enforcement. It’s imperative we protect those citizens working hardest to facilitate change in our communities,” he said.
Kivel could not be reached for comment.
The explosion caused mild damage to the house and, as Kivel said at the time, the entire explosion caused only a scorch mark on the front of the house.
“I’m active in terms of trying to clean up the neighborhood,” Kivel, a member of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, said in an interview conducted in Jan. of 2006.
Kivel said that she was involved with getting illegal dumping off the streets, working to get abandoned cars towed and slum lords to take responsibility for their property and their tenants.
Josh Staab can be reached at [email protected].
