Doug Ellerman Goes Underground

FUR COMMISSION USA PRESS RELEASE, JUNE 1, 1998
Criminals’ Corner
Doug Ellerman Goes Underground
Douglas Joshua Ellerman, 19, has not been seen since April 30, 1998 and is apparently a fugitive from justice. Ellerman, facing 50 years to life, pleaded guilty in February to three of 16 felony counts related to the March 11, 1997 firebombing of the Fur Breeders Agricultural Co-operative in Sandy, Utah. Bombs placed by unidentified confederates of Ellerman resulted in over $750,000 in damages to the building and trucks.
It is possible that Ellerman fled out of fear of retribution by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) after rumors surfaced that the young man might talk to the authorities in order to lighten his sentence to less than five years. Or Ellerman might be a “true believers” who is now hidden underground in an ALF “sanctuary” provided by ALF’s network of secret cells.
In his official statement filed with the U.S. District Court in Utah, Ellerman stated, “The bombing was planned and carried out as part of an ongoing campaign by the Animal Liberation Front, to which I claim affiliation, to put the Co-op, its members, and others involved in the fur trade in Utah, Idaho and elsewhere out of business. It was designed to terrorize those engaging in similar industries around the country to the extent that they will abandon the business.”
Dare I say it: Racketeering?
Without Counsel, Judge Warns, Defendants Will Be Like a “Mink out of a Cage”
Ontario Court Division Justice John Kerr warned Hilma Ruby that representing herself is a risky business. Ruby, who wants to defend herself during a jury trial, is accused, along with three other people, of releasing over 1,500 mink from their cages at Eberts Fur Farm in Harwich Township on March 30, 1997.
Most of the mink were pregnant females which aborted their young. Four hundred and ninety-three mink died, 60 of the domesticated animals were never recovered and vital breeding records were destroyed in the raid. Damages were set at almost $800,000.
Warning against the self defense, Judge Kerr advised Ruby, “You will be like a fish out of water, or like a mink out of a cage.”
Well said, Judge Kerr.
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