Youngblood released on bond

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by Cecilia Tran

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Youngblood was arrested on Sept. 27 on federal charges in connection with the April 6 Student Center fire. He was released from jail the day after he was arrested and did not have to put any money down as security for the bond.

Youngblood is being defended by Thomas Berg, a lawyer in the federal public defender's office.

Andrew Bobb, prosecutor for the case and assistant U.S. district attorney, refused to comment on the charges that the federal government will press against Youngblood.

The grand jury must be held within 100 days of the arrest unless the defense waives that right. If the grand jury finds probable cause that Youngblood committed the crime, it will issue a true bill. Youngblood will then be arraigned in court with an opportunity to plead guilty or innocent. If he pleads not guilty, a trial will follow.

Senior Investigator Robert Kent of the Houston Fire Department suspects that federal arson charges will be filed against Youngblood.

"He already confessed, so it seems like it'll be a pretty open-and-shut deal," Kent said. "It'll be hard for [Youngblood] to fight off the charges."

According to Kent, Youngblood allegedly said he did it because "he was not as rich as the other students," the school did not understand him and he did not have the same opportunities as other students. Youngblood had planned on it being a little fire just to send a message, Kent said.

The fire resulted in $2.3 million in damages to the Pub, the Campus Store, the Marching Owl Band hall and other parts of the Student Center.

Kent said, "As far as dollar loss, it was one of the biggest cases we've handled this year. We certainly were expecting to catch and convict the suspect. I'm sure that it had a lot of meaning for Rice since it was someone from within your university as opposed to someone from the outside."

David Vock, an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau special agent and a member of the Arson Task Force, said, "Right after the fire, we interviewed many different people connected to the Pub, but we didn't get a whole lot of breaks.

"Last week we were just lucky, and we had a tip from an anonymous caller."

The ATF became involved since the fire included an interruption of interstate commerce; the pub sells alcohol and other products that are transported from out of state. The pub is also a for-profit corporation not owned by the university.

Students were surprised to hear of Youngblood's arrest last week.

Ellis Giles, a Will Rice junior and Youngblood's roommate last year, said, "I thought that he was happy here. He had some minor complaints and talked sometimes about transferring to University of Texas at Austin. Still, I never expected anything this drastic."

Joaquin Salas, a Will Rice sophomore and Youngblood's friend, said, "We both attended a National Leadership Conference last semester which showed that he cared about himself and his future and that he was an intelligent person with leadership qualities. I just couldn't believe that he could've done such a thing."

Richie Davis, a Will Rice junior and Youngblood's suitemate the past two years, said, "His life may be ruined now. I remember him as a freshman, when he did really well. Now, lately, I've seen the progression as his life deteriorated. It just makes me feel sad.

"I just want to wish him good luck. I hope that something works out for him."

This item appeared in the News section of the October 6, 1995 issue.

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