Judge rejects bid to withdraw guilty plea in mosque arson

[cbayer]

http://www.religionnews.com/2013/03/22/judge-rejects-bid-to-withdraw-guilty-plea-in-mosque-arson/


The Islamic Center of Greater Toledo was founded in 1954 and built this Middle Eastern-style mosque in suburban Toledo, Ohio in 1983. A fire that officials labeled as arson damaged the building’s interior on Sept. 30, 2012. It will be at least three months before damage from the blaze and water from sprinklers is repaired, mosque officials said. RNS photo by David Yonke

David Yonke / Toledo Faith & Values | Mar 22, 2013

TOLEDO, Ohio (RNS) A federal judge on Thursday (March 21) denied an Indiana man’s request to withdraw his guilty plea in an arson blaze last September at a Toledo-area mosque.

Judge Jack Zouhary of U.S. District Court in Toledo said Randolph Linn, 52, of St. Joe, Ind., was fully competent on Dec. 19 when he pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the Sept. 30 fire at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo.

The judge confirmed a sentencing date of April 16 for Linn, who was charged with intentionally defacing, damaging, and destroying religious property; using a fire to commit a felony; and using and carrying a firearm to commit a crime of violence.

Linn, who did not testify at the hearing, had filed a motion seeking to withdraw his guilty plea, saying he had signed the plea under duress and that he “did not have the opportunity to discuss defenses, tactics, strategies, or the nature and effect of my guilty plea and sentencing.”

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