After police bumped the reward for information leading to her capture to $15,000, “several tipsters” led to the arrest of a woman suspected of setting fire to a new gender and abortion clinic set to open in Casper, authorities say.
The Casper Police Department arrested Lorna Roxanne Green, 22, of Casper on Tuesday after nearly a year of searching for a masked woman whom surveillance videos depicted as setting fire to Wellspring Health Access.
The clinic planned to open June 14, 2022, to offer abortion and transgender-related treatments, but was delayed by the arson.
Federal prosecutors have taken up the case against Green, which means she could face a harsher penalty than if she were charged in the state system.
The federal arson charge is punishable by between five and 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. Wyoming’s law is also punishable by up to 20 years in prison, but there’s no minimum five-year prison penalty. State law carries a fine amount of up to $20,000.
The office of the U.S. Attorney for Wyoming noted in a Tuesday press release that the clinic is set to engage in “interstate commerce,” which it may be using as a justification for having taken over the case.
Smoking Clinic
Casper Police Department officers went to Wellspring Health Access in the early morning hours of May 25, 2022, and found smoke streaming from the building. The Casper Fire Department extinguished the fire.
With the award set at $5,000, nearly a year passed with no arrests.
“With the assistance of an anonymous donor,” says the statement, the Casper Police Department added $10,000 to the reward March 3.
“Shortly after that, several tipsters identified a potential suspect, which led to the filing of charges after additional investigation,” the statement says.
Surveillance videos from the scene show a woman with a gas can, in a dark hoodie and mask. Federal prosecutors say the woman broke a window and poured gasoline in the facility.
U.S. Attorney for Wyoming Nicholas Vassallo called the case proof of “how valuable tips are from the community.”
He said every tip “was shared with and evaluated by cooperating law enforcement partners from the Casper Police Department, FBI and ATF.”
The ATF is the primary investigating agent on the case, according to a Wednesday press release by the Casper Police Department.
