Cooper Frederick, the Fort Collins man arrested last month for his believed connection to one of several vandalism incidents at the Loveland Tesla dealership, will now face federal charges as well as local ones.
Cooper Jo Frederick (Photo courtesy of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office)The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced Tuesday that a federal grand jury indicted Frederick on two counts in relation to the incident: malicious destruction and attempted destruction of property by fire and possession of an unregistered destruction device, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Frederick was arrested in Frisco, Texas and indicted on the two federal felonies on March 27.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that “marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” according to the release. The operation also “streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood,” the release adds.
As of Tuesday afternoon no hearings had been scheduled for the federal case.
Frederick was originally arrested on March 13 in connection to a vandalism at the dealership on March 7. Loveland police earlier this month reported that someone had used what appeared to be a container with gas inside to start a fire between two vehicles that were between two buildings at Tesla, 1606 N. Lincoln Ave. At the time, a cleaning crew was inside the dealership.
Officers who responded were quickly able to extinguish the fire, according to a previous release. Police said rocks also were thrown at the dealership.
In 8th Judicial District Court in Fort Collins, Frederick he has been charged with use of an incendiary device during the commission of a felony, a class 2 felony; of possession of an incendiary device, a class 5 felony; manufacturing an explosive or incendiary device, a class 4 felony; criminal mischief of between $5,000 and $20,000, a class 5 felony; and possession of explosive or incendiary device parts, a class 5 felony.
For these charges he was issued a $20,000 cash or surety bond, which he posted on March 15. He is scheduled to return before 8th Judicial District Court Judge Sarah Cure at the Larimer County Justice Center in Fort Collins at 2:30 p.m. May 27.
Frederick is one of two people to be charged both federally and locally in connection to vandalisms at the Loveland Tesla location.
In late February police arrested 42-year-old Lucy Nelson in connection with graffiti and Molotov cocktails used at the dealership on Jan. 29, Feb. 2. Feb. 7 and Feb. 24, including graffiti aimed at Elon Musk. She faces charges in both the 8th Judicial District Court in Fort Collins and in U.S. District Court in Denver and has been released on a personal recognizance bond.
Nelson pleaded not guilty to three felony charges in federal court: two counts of two counts of possession of an unregistered destruction device and malicious attempted destruction of property, all class 4 federal felonies. She was initially scheduled to stand for a three-day trial beginning May 5, but that trial was moved to begin Aug. 4.
In district court in Fort Collins, she faces numerous additional felonies in relation to the Loveland case. These charges are two counts of use of an explosive/incendiary device in a felony, a class 2 felony; three counts possession of an explosive or incendiary device, a class 5 felony; three counts of attempted second-degree arson with a value of $100,000 to $1 million, a class 4 felony; criminal mischief amounting to $2,000 to $5,000, a class 6 felony; and manufacturing an explosive or incendiary device, a class 4 felony.
She has not entered a plea in these charges and is scheduled to return before 8th Judicial District Court Judge Stephen Jouard at 11:30 a.m. May 9.
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