Second man held over police station firebombings

Nicolas Perpitch December 11, 2008

Article from: The Australian

POLICE arrested a second man last night after a spate of brazen firebomb attacks on Perth police stations forced Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan to suggest security officers would be engaged to protect his officers.

Ryan Thomas Jones, 27, of Heathridge in Perth's northern suburbs, was taken into custody about 9pm after detectives released a mugshot of him earlier in the day.

An alleged accomplice, Craig Meyrick, 31, also of Heathridge, was arrested hours earlier after police raided a house and seized a Toyota four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The two attacks, which took place at separate police stations over a 28-hour period, have rattled the force to a state not seen since a battle between bikies in 2001 culminated in the bombing assassination of former CIB chief Don Hancock.

Police sources last night confirmed that Mr Jones had been arrested without incident, and at the time of going to press had yet to be interviewed or charged.

Mr Meyrick has been charged with two counts of criminal damage by fire over the attack at the Joondalup police station. He will appear in Perth Magistrates Court today.

A Landcruiser seized from Mr Meyrick's Heathridge house earlier in the day was being forensically examined to see if it was involved in the bombings.

In the second attack in a little over 24 hours, two cars owned by on-duty officers at the Warwick police station were firebombed. Police believe an attacker would easily have been able to jump the fence of the station's unguarded back parking lot.

In the Joondalup attack on Monday night, a Holden Rodeo ute was carefully backed up past defensive bollards to the front entrance of the station and a 220litre fuel tank on the tray was set alight.

The explosion and subsequent fire gutted the foyer and reached the top floor of the Reid Promenade complex, as well as adjoining offices, causing an estimated $500,000 worth of damage.

None of the 12 officers inside was injured. None saw the attack because they were in another part of the building.

Mr O'Callaghan said the firebombings were attacks on his police officers and on the whole community. "It's an attack on society, it's an attack on freedom, it's an attack on democracy," he said. "And we do need to make sure our police officers are adequately protected and provided for so they can do their jobs."

Premier Colin Barnett said he hoped the firebombings were "a random event rather than something that may be more systematic or sinister".

Detectives have refused to comment on the attacks, but admitted they could have been more than a coincidence.

"At this stage, there's no link between the two offences, apart (from) they are both the same offence -- that is, damage by fire," Detective Senior Sergeant John Hutchison said. "It's possible, but at this stage it appears it is unlikely."

Police were investigating the possibility of a copycat crime, Sergeant Hutchison said. "There's no suggestion whatsoever they're targeting any individual police officer. At this stage, our information is they were just targeting the police."

He would not say whether Mr Jones had any previous involvement with the Joondalup station or police generally.

WA Police Union president Mike Dean said he had been urging WA Police for years to improve security at stations.

"I've written numerous letters about security for private vehicles," he said.

Hancock and his friend Lou Lewis were killed in a car bomb attack carried out by a bikie gang member in 2001. The feud between police and the bikies centred on the October 2000 shooting of gang member Billy Grierson, which many bikies blamed on the CIB boss, who had retired from the force and was running an outback pub.

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