TOLEDO -- The Indiana man charged with the September 30 arson of the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo pled guilty and accepted a 20 year prison term. 52-year-old Randolph Linn of St. Joe, Indiana agreed to the binding plea agreement in federal court in downtown Toledo. A stipulation of the plea deal is that Wood County will not pursue a state prosecution of Linn.
Federal prosecutors say that on September 30 of this year Linn set fire to a prayer room inside the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo located on Schneider Rd. in Perrysburg. The fire caused extensive damage and the repairs are expected to take several more months to complete. No one was hurt in the fire. When asked by Judge Jack Zouhary why he targted the Islamic Center, Linn said he was spurred to action by what he read in newspapers, heard on the radio and on FOX News.
Dr. Mahjabeen Islam, the President of the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, was satisfied with the verdict. "It sends a very loud message to future criminals that our society will not tolerate this hate and violence," Dr. Islam said.
Linn will be formally sentenced on April 16, 2013.
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