Contents of the note were not released. The family building the adobe home had planted a sign pledging to live in harmony with nature and to protect the environment, an apparent attempt to protect the home against an environmental protest. Since January 1998, nine homes have been burned near the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, purportedly to save the environment. Two have been torched near the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale. The arsonist, who says he belongs to a group that uses the acronym CSP, has sent letters to media outlets and left messages warning against future building and quoting Bible verses.
Sands lives in a quiet residential neighborhood.
The house is well kept. A desert bluff rises from the back yard and is covered with paloverde, saguaros and creosote. Quail flutter out of the underbrush, and rabbits zip along trails. Sands' neighbors said he didn't appear to have any political or environmental axes to grind. His only public crusade was a failed attempt to get the homeowners association to pay for new playground equipment.