Train Hero's Dad, 2 Others Indicted For Arson Fraud Scheme
SACRAMENTO (CBSLA.com/AP) — Three people-- including the father of French train hero Spencer Stone -- have been indicted in a scheme to set fire to commercial buildings in the Sacramento area in order to collect insurance money.
An indictment unsealed Friday alleges that 57-year-old Jamal Shehadeh was the ringleader, setting seven fires at six commercial buildings where he operated businesses then collecting over $1.5 million in insurance proceeds. His charges include seven counts of arson and 52 counts of fraud.
Prosecutors say that Stone's 57-year-old father Brian J. Stone was a business consultant for Shehadeh and helped with the fraudulent insurance claims. He's charged with 13 counts of fraud.
Spencer Stone is one of three men who tackled a gunman with ties to radical Islam on a Paris-bound passenger train in August. The incident made him an international hero.
This past October, Stone was stabbed several times in the torso shortly after leaving a bar. Stone reportedly underwent emergency open heart surgery to close wounds to his lungs, liver and heart. He spent a week in the hospital.
RELATED LINK: Police Release Sketches Of Suspects In Stabbing Of Paris-Bound Train Hero
James Tran, 28, was arrested for the stabbing in early November during a traffic stop near his home in Elk Grove. The Sacramento County DA's office decided to file a charge of attempted murder against Tran who apparently has a long rap sheet with several felonies.
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