LinkOfficer Accused of Damaging Pro-Bush Cars
Associated Press | December 17, 2005
DENVER - The Air Force Reserve is discharging a lieutenant colonel accused of causing thousands of dollars in damage by defacing cars bearing pro-Bush bumper stickers, his lawyer and military officials confirmed Friday.
Lt. Col. Alexis Fecteau, a pilot with 500 combat hours in the first Persian Gulf War and the Balkans, was charged earlier by Denver prosecutors with felony criminal mischief.
He is accused of using paint stripper and grease to write a profanity about President Bush in 18-inch-high letters on cars at Denver International Airport that had bumper stickers supporting Bush and conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh.
Jim Miller, a spokesman for the Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., said the command plans to begin the process of giving Fecteau an administrative discharge. He said Fecteau does not face any military punishment.
Fecteau is charged with 13 counts of criminal mischief, five of them felonies because the damage to five vehicles was estimated at more than $500 each.
Police said the vehicles were damaged between January and July 2005 and that a "bait car" rigged with a video camera recorded Fecteau damaging a vehicle at the airport.
Fecteau's lawyer, Patrick Mulligan, gave a hint of what his defense might be, noting that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder could appear years after extremely stressful experiences, like flying in combat.
"There are millions of Americans who object to the war ... most of those millions of Americans didn't have, in addition, some of the combat experiences that Lt. Col. Fecteau and others had," he said.
Larry Whittemore of Pueblo, who said his Ford Expedition suffered nearly $2,500 damage, welcomed the news that Fecteau faces discharge, saying: "I don't think he is fit to be in the Air Force."