FBI offers reward in Modesto Planned Parenthood arson case
The FBI is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who participated in setting an arson fire at the Planned Parenthood Modesto Heath Center on McHenry Avenue on May 25.
At about 3:30 that morning, Modesto police officers and firefighters responded to an alarm at the clinic at 1431 McHenry Ave. An incendiary device had been thrown through a glass door, according to the FBI. In a letter posted online the day of the fire, Linda Williams, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, wrote: “... someone had apparently thrown a gas can through one of the glass doors and ignited it.”
The fire suppression system’s sprinklers extinguished the flames, but the building’s entryway and facade sustained substantial fire damage, the FBI said, and about a third of the building sustained water damage.
The health facility reopened June 2, offering limited services, including birth control, pregnancy tests and oral contraceptives. It since has resumed offering full services, Liz Figueroa, vice president of public affairs for San Jose-based Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, said Monday.
The FBI and the Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigations Unit continue to work on the case. Anyone with information regarding those involved in the fire is asked to call the FBI at 800-225-5324 or submit a tip online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
“We’re really pleased with the coordination of the FBI and the Modesto police ... in making sure that the arsonist is captured or identified,” Figueroa said, “and that our employees and patients feel safe in the area.”
This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 10:05 AM with the headline "FBI offers reward in Modesto Planned Parenthood arson case."