Policy- A man rigged up his home with "Indiana Jones"-style booby traps, injuring an FBI special agent.
- He placed a hot tub on its side and rigged it to roll towards a gate when it was opened, mimicking a scene from a movie.
A 71-year-old man who rigged his home with booby traps inspired by the Indiana Jones movies, resulting in the injury of an FBI bomb technician, was found guilty by a federal jury of assaulting a federal officer last week.
The Department of Justice said in a press release that Gregory Lee Rodvelt, who formerly lived in Williams, Oregon, was also found guilty of using and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
According to a 2018 criminal complaint, Oregon State Police bomb technicians as well as an FBI bomb special agent arrived at a property formerly owned by Rodvelt on September 7, 2018. Rodvelt had lost the property in a lawsuit.
But the Justice Department said that Rodvelt had booby-trapped it after a receiver was appointed to sell the house.
Bomb technicians were there to make sure it was safe.
Rodvelt had been arrested in 2017 and charged with the unlawful possession of explosives, and a sign outside the house said it was protected by improvised devices, the complaint said.
When the technicians arrived, they encountered a minivan deliberately parked to obstruct their path, the complaint said. It was rigged with steel animal traps, according to the DOJ.
Closer to the property, technicians found a circular hot tub spa that was placed on its side. After looking more closely, they discovered that it was rigged to be activated by a mechanical trigger when the gate was opened, causing it to roll towards anyone entering, per the DOJ.
The complaint said it appeared to be inspired by a scene from "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark," in which the character has to outrun a stone boulder after triggering a booby trap.
Inside the property's garage, the technicians also found a rat trap modified to accommodate a shotgun shell, designed to fire when the garage door lifted, the complaint said. However, it was not loaded.
After breaching the front door with an explosive charge, the group of bomb technicians and law enforcement officers came across a wheelchair in the entryway, the complaint said. After someone moved it, a "very loud" explosion occurred, resulting in the agent's injury.
The group administered first aid to the injured bomb technician and transported him to a nearby hospital, where an X-ray showed a small bullet lodged slightly below his left knee, the complaint said.
The DOJ said that assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. Additionally, a charge of using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence can carry a life sentence.
Rodvelt's sentencing will take place at a later date.