NORFOLK
Norfolk police have charged a man believed to be associated with a white supremacist group connected to vandalism at two local synagogues last year.
Corey J. Miller was arrested last month and accused of violating parole for traveling without permission to white-power events across the country, according to prosecutors. Miller, 30, is scheduled to appear in court today on a felony fugitive charge.
Miller was not charged or implicated in the April 2009 defacing of synagogues on Granby Street and in Ghent. But according to a sworn statement, police became aware of Miller during the investigation.
They believe Miller is associated with Volksfront, a skinhead group, that also counted one of the synagogue vandals as a member, according to the sworn statement and court testimony.
Miller declined a request for an interview in the Norfolk City Jail, where he is being held.
In April 2009, four Norfolk synagogues were vandalized with anti-Semitic stickers.
Christopher John Brooks and John Edward Grogan were accused of putting more than 60 anti-Semitic stickers on the doors and windows of Temple Israel and Beth Messiah Synagogue on Granby Street.
Grogan, of Waynesboro, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May to five years in prison. During his sentencing, Grogan testified he became a white supremacist while incarcerated and joined Volksfront in November 2008. He testified that he regretted that decision.
Brooks, a Florida man, pleaded guilty in May and was sentenced to five years in prison, with the term suspended after time served.
In January, police spotted Miller at Norfolk International Airport wearing a jacket with the Volksfront logo, according to an affidavit.
Volksfront, founded in 1994 in Portland, Ore., according to its website, is at the "forefront of the struggle for white autonomy, white self-determination and the issues of the white working class."
In addition to law enforcement, the group is watched by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The law center describes Volksfront as a "racist skinhead" group with chapters in several states, including Virginia.
According to Colorado court records, Miller was convicted of felony aggravated robbery in 1996. Miller moved to Virginia, and the court ordered that he could travel no farther than 100 miles from his Norfolk home or leave the commonwealth without permission. The Norfolk office of Probation and Parole monitored Miller in Virginia, said Larry Traylor, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections.
Sworn statements from Norfolk police portray Miller as a busy traveler in 2009 and 2010. And although police say Miller was associated with a tech-savvy group known for spreading its influence through electronic media, he was betrayed by his cell phone, according to the statements.
Investigators obtained his cell phone records through a court order. The records indicated that Miller was in Florida in early December, and other law enforcement sources told Norfolk police that Miller attended a white power event called the "Martyrs Day Gathering" in Milton, Fla., on Dec. 5, according to the statements.
The records also showed that his cell phone accessed towers in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Massachusetts in September through November. They also indicate that Miller traveled to Lynchburg and Roanoke in late November and early December.
After months of surveillance, the Colorado State Board of Parole issued a warrant for Miller's arrest on June 18. Norfolk police captured him the next day as he arrived in Norfolk from Las Vegas aboard a US Airways flight, according to court records.
A subsequent search of Miller's car and home in the 1700 block of Gowrie Ave. uncovered invoices and receipts from Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Charlottesville and Lakeland, Fla., according to court records.
Amanda Howie, spokeswoman for the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's office, said Miller was being held on an interstate compact with Colorado. Today's court hearing could clear the way for Colorado officials to take Miller into custody, she said.
Until then, she said, "He's not going anywhere."
