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.
Rodvelt was involved in a standoff with Arizona police in Sun City after a victim reported to police he was brandishing a firearm at him in April 2017, according to azcentral.
Police pulled over Rodvelt, but he refused to cooperate with law enforcement and barricaded himself inside his car, causing several agencies to respond and a partial shutdown of US Route 60.
After seven hours, Rodvelt eventually surrendered and was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment on charges of unlawful possession of explosives.
However, he had been released for two weeks to prepare to turn over his Oregon property.
During his time to prep the property he lost, Rodvelt had rigged the home with booby traps and placed a sign on his property warning those who entered of the “improvised devices” he scattered to deter law enforcement from entering.
Bomb technicians from the Oregon State Police (OSP) and FBI were called to the property on Sept. 7, 2018, to clear the residence.
They discovered an alarming number of harmful traps, including “homemade spike strips” that the attorney had previously run over, and the hot tub “rigged in a manner that when a gate was opened,” could potentially crush whoever was near the vicinity, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Rodvelt told the agents that the tub booby trap was referencing the “‘stone rolling down in the Indiana Jones Movie,’” the outlet reported.
The law enforcement team cleared the initial booby traps before entering the home.
When authorities reached Rodvelt’s lost home, they observed “bullet holes from shots fired inside” on the front door and the windows around the residence barred shut.
Law enforcement then reached the home and “used an explosive charge to breach the front door,” the statement revealed.
Once inside, the group was met with a wheelchair in the center of the front entryway rigged with a shotgun that fired into an FBI bomb technician’s knee.
The technician was rendered first aid by other agents on the scene and transported to a local hospital.
Rodvelt was found guilty of assaulting a federal officer and using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence for his 2018 charges.
“Assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. Using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence is punishable by up to life in federal prison,” the statement shared.
His sentencing will be determined at a later date.
“That’s an unrealistic maximum” sentence, defense attorney Benjamin Kim told the outlet.
