HEAD OF CAMP IN ARIZONA IS ARRESTED IN BOY'S DEATH

Seven months after a 14-year-old boy died from exposure at an unregulated
boot camp for troubled youth near Phoenix, the head of the camp, Charles F.
Long II, was arrested yesterday and charged with second-degree murder.

Mr. Long, 56, who calls himself a colonel in the America's Buffalo Soldiers
Re-enactors Association, the organization that runs the camp, was also
charged with eight counts of child abuse, aggravated assault and marijuana
possession. At a hearing in Phoenix this afternoon, a judge set bail at
$100,000, and Mr. Long was ordered to have no contact with children other
than his own. He will be arraigned on Feb. 22.

David Burnell Smith, Mr. Long's lawyer, said that his client, though filled
with sorrow over the death, intended to plead not guilty and to fight the
charges.

"This was a case of negligence, pure and simple," said Mr. Smith, adding
that the negligence was on the part of other camp employees, not Mr. Long.
"He's spent 10 years running the camp because he's trying to help kids, not
hurt them."

In addition, a worker at the camp, Raymond Burr Anderson, 39, was charged
with child abuse for his role in what the sheriff's department described as
a pattern of abuse at the camp, which is in the desert west of Phoenix. His
la wyer, David Derickson, said that Mr. Anderson would plead not guilty at
his arraignment, also on Feb. 22.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, said that
his officers had also arrested a 17-year-old worker at the camp, Sirveorge
Jones, on child abuse charges and that two more arrests were expected shortly.

The arrests followed the death last July of Tony Haynes, a troubled 14-
year-old who, the authorities said, collapsed after being forced to endure
temperatures of well over 100 degrees without adequate water, shade or
care. According to the medical examiner, Tony died of complications from
dehydration and near-drowning from a bath intended to cool him off.

Other youths at the camp told of beatings, of being denied food and water
and being forced to eat mud. Sheriff Arpaio called the camp "horrific," and
said his officers found bruises on many of the youths. One camper, Justin
Hurff, has said that counselors singled out Tony for particularly tough
treatment.

The camp, which is said to have closed for two months after Tony's death
and reopened in September, is now in the middle of its spring term.

"It's operating this weekend," Mr. Smith said.

Gov. Jane Dee Hull set up a panel to investigate the camps and now there
are two bills in the legislature that would regulate such camps and require
them to obtain licenses, just as child-welfare agencies do.

The boot camps are highly debated, with their supporters saying that the
"tough love" approach, forcing youngsters to adapt to a rugged environment,
can transform children who have had trouble with rules. Critics say that
the methods used amount to child abuse.

Some parents and even some children who had attended Mr. Long's camp have
praised him as helping improve the self-esteem and sense of discipline of
the campers.

Carol Kamin, executive director of the Children's Action Alliance in
Arizona, a nonprofit child-advocacy group, sat on the governor's panel and
said the legislation was important in bringing proper oversight to such
camps. Under current law, if the camps are in session for less than a year,
then they do not need licenses.

"The current loophole in the law is the size of the Grand Canyon and it
needs to be closed," Ms. Kamin said. "Unless that happens nothing will have
come of this tragedy."

Tony was sent to the boot camp by his mother, who said she had been unable
to control his behavior. Tony was one of roughly 40 boys and girls, ages 7
to 17, who had been sent for a 14-week session.

Tony apparently collapsed after hours in the heat. He was left in a motel
bathtub to cool off; when counselors returned, a sheriff's affidavit said,
they found him face-down in water. Tony was then returned to the camp. One
camper said the counselors called for help when Tony stopped breathing and
turned blue.

An emergency medical crew came to the camp, about 15 miles south of
Buckeye, Ariz., after a 911 call, but Tony was declared dead shortly afterward.

Although there have been complaints about how long it has taken to arrest
Mr. Long, Sheriff Arpaio said he needed to be sure the investigators had
all the evidence before pursuing charges.