A North Little Rock man accused of damaging public property during a rash of Black Lives Matter protests in late summer and fall of 2020 was ordered to appear in court May 16 for a federal judge to consider dismissing most of the charges against him.
Mujera Benjamin Lungaho, 32, was indicted Oct. 6, 2020, on one count each of conspiracy to maliciously damage property by use of explosive, malicious use of an explosive device to damage property, and use of an incendiary device during a crime of violence.
A superseding indictment handed up by a federal grand jury Feb. 3, 2021, merged Lungaho's case with those of four co-defendants -- Brittany Dawn Jeffrey, Emily Nowlin, Aline Espinosa-Villegas and Renea Goddard -- and added 13 new charges against him.
All five are accused in connection with damage inflicted on public property, including slashing tires, firebombing and attempting to firebomb police cars, that occurred during protests during the summer and into the fall of 2020 in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Floyd's killing touched off protests around the country that continued for months and have led some police departments to examine their use-of-force policies.
For each of the five, conviction of the most serious charge, possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence, could result in a sentence ranging from 30 years to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Possible sentences for the other charges range from five to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.
Lungaho is charged in the superseding indictment with three counts of conspiracy to maliciously damage and destroy property by means of fire; one count of attempt to maliciously damage and destroy a vehicle by means of fire; two counts of malicious damage and destruction of a vehicle by fire; one count of possession of a destructive device in furtherance of an attempted crime of violence; two counts of possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence; three counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of making a destructive device.
He has pleaded innocent to all of the charges against him.
In November, Lungaho's attorney, Michael Kaiser of Little Rock, filed a motion to have all but three of the counts against his client dismissed. The remaining counts, making a destructive device and two counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device, were not included in the motion.
On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. issued an order setting a hearing to consider the motion. In the order, Marshall denied a portion of the motion asking to dismiss Count 4 of the indictment, which is a third count of possession of an unregistered destructive device, saying Count 4 is multiplicitous of the following count, making of a destructive device.
"Every manufacture probably involves possession, though the reverse is not true," Marshall said in the order. "But the Court will not make the United States elect before trial which count to proceed on ... We will sort this at trial to avoid any Double Jeopardy problem."
Kaiser said the primary issue is the destruction of three police cruisers, one belonging to the Little Rock Police Department, one to the North Little Rock Police Department, and one to Arkansas State Police. The premise of the federal arson counts contained in the superseding indictment, Kaiser said, is that the cruisers were paid for in whole or in part with federal funds, a premise which Kaiser said doesn't hold up under scrutiny.
"We're saying that even if what the government alleges is true it doesn't meet the definition of arson under federal law because it wasn't federal property," Kaiser said. "NLRPD gets some pittance, a tiny percentage of their budget through some federal grants, none of which goes toward buying their cop cars. It's not federal property."
Kaiser said because of that, the burning of the police cars was not a federal crime, and he is asking that all of the federal arson counts against his client be dismissed on that basis.
In a response to the motion, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacy Williams contended that any federal funds received by the police agencies are not required to be related to any specific property, making the federal arson statutes applicable in Lungaho's case.
In his order, Marshall said a hearing on the motion is scheduled for May 16 at 9 a.m.