Feds won't retry LA student in SUV arson

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors say they won't retry a Southern California student for his role in the torching of 125 sport utility vehicles in an environmental protest.

William Cottrell, 29, was convicted in 2004 of destroying the SUVs at auto dealerships and in residential neighborhoods in the San Gabriel Valley area. Two fellow Caltech students fled the country and avoided prosecution.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned seven of the eight counts against Cottrell on the grounds he had not been allowed to present evidence at trial that he suffered from Asperger's syndrome, which his lawyers said prevented him from forming a specific intent to commit the crime.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles said it was satisfied with the one remaining conspiracy conviction against Cottrell, which could land him in prison for 10 years, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Cottrell, who had been a graduate student in physics, has served two-thirds of a 100-month prison term. He will be resentenced Monday, the newspaper said.