FL - Fort Pierce Arrest made in arson fire at Florida mosque, officials say

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September 14, 2016

Arrest made in arson fire at Florida mosque, officials say

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A 32-year-old Florida man has been arrested and is facing a charge of arson and hate crime in a fire that heavily damaged a mosque that Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen attended, authorities announced Wednesday.

Joseph Michael Schreiber was arrested without incident Wednesday afternoon and was being interrogated by investigators looking into the fire set late Sunday at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, said Maj. David Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

Thompson told a news conference that Schreiber was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video taken from the mosque and elsewhere. He said the arson charge, coupled with a hate crime enhancement under Florida law, carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/09/14/arrest-made-in-arson-fire-at-florida-mosque-officials-say.html
 
Detectives investigating whether mosque arsonist had help

Authorities said Friday they are investigating whether the man accused of torching a Florida mosque sometimes attended by the Orlando nightclub shooter was part of a conspiracy.

Lt. Adam Goodner of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said in an email to The Associated Press that detectives are investigating who Joseph Schreiber, 32, spoke to on his cellphone moments before the fire was set Sunday night at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce. Detectives said in their arrest affidavit that surveillance cameras at the mosque, which was attended by Omar Mateen, caught the arsonist talking to someone.

Schreiber told detectives he was embarrassed by his actions and never intended to hurt anyone, according to the affidavit. No one was injured in the fire, which burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

Ralph Alfonso is a former inmate who says he served time with Schreiber at Lawtey Correctional Institution, a faith-based prison where both were incarcerated earlier this decade. In a telephone interview Thursday night, Alfonso described Schreiber as being a "couple cans short of a six-pack" and said he doesn't think Schreiber is intellectually capable of setting the blaze without coaching.
 

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