No charges for torching Marine van

The father of a slain soldier is suffering from burns.
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Carlos Arredondo cried through the night on Wednesday. And then he cried through much of Thursday.
His tears weren't so much the result of second-degree burns he suffered while torching a military van in a fit of anguish, but rather the agony of learning that his son had died in Iraq, family members said.
"He can't stop," his wife, Melida Arredondo, 39, said after visiting him at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. "He is grieving appropriately, as opposed to inappropriately, like he did yesterday."
Doctors upgraded Arredondo's condition on Thursday, saying he was burned over 26 percent of his body, not 50 percent as first reported, mostly on his legs and left side of his body.
But, family members said his spirit, not his flesh, is suffering most, and Arredondo finally turned to a priest and a counselor to ease his misery. His son, Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, of Randolph, Mass., 20, was shot to death in combat near Najaf, Iraq, on Tuesday.
Saying they understand his pain, both the Hollywood, Fla., police and the U.S. Marine Corps on Thursday said they would not seek any criminal or federal charges against Arredondo for destroying a 2004 nine-seat Chevrolet van, worth about $14,000-$16,000.
"It would be insensitive for any law enforcement agency to do so, given the totality of the incident," said Hollywood police spokesman Capt. Tony Rode.
"That's out of compassion for the circumstances and sensitivity toward the family," said Marine Maj. Scott Mack. "However, this does not set a precedent for how we deal with destruction of government property. This is truly isolated to this incident and the terrible news Mr. Arredondo had to face."
A bullfighter
Friends and family said they know Carlos Arredondo, a self-employed handyman, to be charismatic and outgoing. He spent several years as a popular bullfighter in his native Costa Rica, nicknamed "El Gringo," because of his light features, said family friend Hahiling Jobson, of Boston.
Carlos Arredondo was proud of his son for becoming a Marine and fighting for his country. But he also was looking forward to spending time with his son, once he returned from Iraq, friends said.
And his son, who had lived near Boston, was eventually looking forward to going to college, getting married and having children.
"He was the kind who could have done anything upon graduation," said Paul McDonald, a former teacher at Blue Hills Regional Technical School, in Canton, Mass., where Alexander Arredondo graduated in 2002.
The funeral will be held in Norwood, Mass., where Alexander Arredondo grew up, in about two weeks, after the government releases the body.
Grim task
On Wednesday afternoon, three Marines, Gunnery Sgt. Syrill Melvin, Staff Sgt. Abraham Negron and 1st Sgt. Timothy Shipman, were given the grim task of notifying Carlos Arredondo that his son was dead.
Arredondo went to his garage, picked up a propane tank, a can of gasoline and a blowtorch. Despite initial attempts to stop him, he smashed the van's window, got inside and set it ablaze, police said. In the process, he was set on fire as well.
The Marines, based in Hialeah, Fla., said they pulled Arredondo from the van and patted him down to put out the blaze.
Mack, the Marine major, said the three did not try to stop his attack on the vehicle because they were convinced he was not trying to hurt himself.