A man from Oregon was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for rigging his home with lethal booby traps, Law & Crime reported Friday.
Gregory Lee Rodvelt, 72, was convicted over setting up “Indiana Jones”-style booby traps, including a hot tub designed to roll down a hill in a deadly imitation of the iconic boulder scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” according to the outlet. The setup injured an FBI bomb technician, which led to Rodvelt’s recent sentencing by U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. McShane.
Rodvelt’s conviction follows a federal jury’s verdict in June, which found him guilty of assaulting a federal officer and using a firearm in a violent crime, per the outlet. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Portland field office, Kieran L. Ramsey, condemned Rodvelt’s actions and the severity and malicious intent behind the traps.
“This individual went through great efforts to set intricate and deadly concealed traps to prevent FBI agents from doing their job. These were no joke,” Ramsey said in a statement, per the outlet. “Mr. Rodvelt knew he was breaking the law and his reprehensible actions are what landed him this sentence.”
The situation’s origin traces back to August 2018, when Rodvelt lost his home due to a lawsuit, per the outlet. Rodvelt returned to the property to set up traps and warned of “improvised devices” with a sign, per the outlet. This prompted a court-appointed attorney, responsible for the property’s upkeep, to seek law enforcement assistance, per the outlet.
‘These were no joke’: Man who rigged home with ‘Indiana Jones’-inspired booby traps that injured FBI agent sentenced to lengthy prison term
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The Oregon State Police and FBI bomb technicians arrived at the property Sept. 7, 2018, the outlet reported. They were met with a series of menacing traps, including a minivan blocking the gate rigged with steel animal traps, homemade spike strips and the notorious hot tub set to roll down towards anyone opening the gate. (RELATED: Booby Traps And Pipe Bombs: Cops Executing Warrant Find Arsenal Of Weapons, Journal Entries Plotting Murder)
Inside the residence, additional hazards awaited. Windows were secured from inside, doors were fortified and a rat trap modified to hold a shotgun shell was discovered in the garage. There was also a wheelchair rigged with a shotgun device, which discharged and injured an FBI technician as upon entering the residence, per the outlet.
Rodvelt admitted to setting up the traps. “During the interview, Rodvelt stated that he set up fishing line and a tripwire 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,” agents wrote in the criminal complaint, per the outlet. “Rodvelt described it by referencing ‘the stone rolling down in the Indiana Jones Movie.'”