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FBI Offers $5,000 Reward To Catch Arsonist Who Torched Old Town Stables

By Paul Biasco | May 26, 2015 12:54pm
 The exterior and interior of the Old Town stable was damaged in the fire.
The exterior and interior of the Old Town stable was damaged in the fire.
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DNAinfo/Paul Biasco

OLD TOWN — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a reward for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the arson at the Noble Horse Theatre in February.

The FBI announced the $5,000 reward Tuesday, more than three months after the fire that destroyed 13 horse drawn carriages and caused significant damage to the building.

The FBI's investigation ruled the cause of the fire as arson and found graffiti that is typically associated with the animal rights extremism movement.

The words "SAVE THE HORSES" AND "FREEDOM" written in bright green spay paint were discovered in a hallway of the stable after the Feb. 6 fire.


Jim Rogers examines the hallway of Noble Horse Theater where graffiti was sprayed the night of the fire. [DNAinfo/Paul Biasco]

The investigation found the fires were set in two separate horse carriage storage areas of the Noble Horse Theater, 1410 N. Orleans St., according to the FBI.

The total damage to the horse carriages was approximately $130,000.

Two of those carriages were owned by Jim Rogers, who runs Great Lakes Horse and Carriage and the remaining 11 were owned by Antique Coach and Carriage.

The graffiti remains sprayed on the walls and the structure hasn't been repaired, according to Rogers.

"I walk by that graffiti every day. It's still here," he said. "So much has gone on. I still have not personally emotionally dealt with this even though I'm surrounded by it."

Rogers is back up and running with two carriages loaned to him from an out-of-state operator, but his two that were torched in the fire were not covered by insurance.


A total of 13 horse drawn carriages were destroyed in the fire. [DNAinfo/Paul Biasco]

Rogers said the businesses had received threats from animal rights activists over the past few years and he believed it was a deliberate act meant to damage his business.

Animal rights activists sent hate mail in the past to a fellow carriage owner who rents space at Noble Horse Theater, but nothing has been heard since the fire.

"They've gone silent," Rogers said. "Not a peep."

No horses were injured during the early morning fire.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Chicago Police Department or the Chicago office of the FBI at 312-421-6700.

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