FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1996                            (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
          FEDERAL GRAND JURY IN NEWPORT NEWS INDICTS TWO
            FOR BURNING TWO HEALTH CLINICS IN VIRGINIA


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A federal grand jury in Newport News,
Virginia, today indicted a Kansas woman and a Virginia man for
setting fire to two reproductive health clinics in the state.
     The five count indictment, returned today in U.S. District
Court in Newport News, charged Jennifer Patterson Sperle of Wichita
and Clark Ryan Martin of Norfolk with violating federal conspiracy
and arson statutes. 
     The indictment accused Sperle and Martin of conspiring to and
setting fire to the Peninsula Medical Center for Women in Newport
News in December 1994 and the Tidewater Women's Health Center in
Norfolk in March 1995.  At the time of the incidents Sperle resided
in Norfolk.
     If convicted under the arson statutes, the two could face up
to 20 years in prison for each fire and a $250,000 fine.  The two
could face an additional five years if convicted under the
conspiracy statute.
     A summons was issued today for Martin, who, according to his
attorney, intends to turn himself in to authorities.  Sperle was
arrested today in Wichita.  
     The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms and the Norfolk Police Department, with
assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Attorneys
from the Justice Department's Criminal and Civil Rights Divisions
conducted the grand jury investigation that resulted in the
indictment. 
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96-139