This week, Oregon Man is giving Florida Man some competition for headline-grabbing antics.
An Oregon man who bizarrely rigged the home he lost in a lawsuit with an “Indiana Jones” inspired booby trap and other hazards — which hospitalized a federal agent — was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday.Gregory Lee Rodvelt, 71, rigged the home as a form of retaliation upon learning that the state had appointed an attorney to sell off his property in Williams, Oregon — over 200 miles south of Portland near the California border, according to a statement released by the US Attorney’s office for Oregon.Rodvelt, who was serving time for a separate incident in an Arizona state prison, revealed to the FBI ahead of the raid that “fishing line and a tripwire” were strategically placed “across the property gate that went to a round hot tub that was on its side set to roll down the hill and hit whoever comes through the gate,” according to NBC.
The situation began after a real estate lawyer tasked with selling the property contacted police after finding a sign warning that the home was ‘protected by improvised devices.’ After entering, law enforcement officials discovered the set-up, which was likened to the infamous bolder scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.
When bomb technicians from Oregon State Police and the FBI arrived at the property, they noticed steel animal traps affixed to a gate post, as well as under the hood of the minivan that was blocking the gate.After disarming the traps, the FBI agents and bomb squad moved towards the residence.’They observed a hot tub that had been placed on its side and rigged in a manner that when a gate was opened it would activate a mechanical trigger causing the spa to roll toward the person who had opened the gate,’ said the U.S. attorney’s office for Oregon.Police compared the scene to one from the film ‘Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark’ that sees Harrison Ford forced to outrun a giant stone boulder that he inadvertently triggered by a booby trap switch.
A shot-gun rigged wheelchair was the device that injured the FBI agent.
An FBI special agent and three state police bomb technicians then approached the manufactured house – blasting open the fortified front door – but never making it past an empty wheelchair that was outfitted to stop anyone who moved it.According to officials, the wheelchair was outfitted with a fishing line, shotgun ammunition, and other items that, when pushed, triggered an explosion. An X-ray revealed that a .410-gauge shotgun pellet hit the agent’s leg.
Rodvelt will be sentenced at another court appearance.
Rodvelt faces up to 20 years behind bars when he’s sentenced, prosecutors said.”That’s an unrealistic maximum” sentence, defense attorney Benjamin Kim said Wednesday.Kim declined to comment further.
The response to this story in social media has been fascinating. The FBI may wish to consider readjusting its investigation priorities, based on many of comments on this story.
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