A 71-year-old man, Gregory Lee Rodvelt, has been found guilty of assaulting a federal officer and discharging a firearm during a violent crime. The conviction stems from a 2018 incident where Rodvelt injured an FBI agent using a booby-trapped wheelchair designed to fire at anyone who moved it. The agent suffered a leg injury and required hospitalization.
The incident unfolded on Rodvelt's 15-acre property in Williams, a small town. Law enforcement had initially arrived at the property at the behest of a real estate lawyer involved in its sale. Officers navigated a series of elaborate traps, including a minivan rigged with animal snares and a tipped-over hot tub designed to roll onto anyone triggering a tripwire. These contraptions were likened to scenes from the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Upon reaching the main house, an FBI special agent and a bomb squad were met with the rigged wheelchair. When moved, it triggered a discharge of shotgun ammunition, striking the agent's leg with a pellet. An X-ray confirmed the injury. Rodvelt's sentencing by U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane is pending. He faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years for assaulting a federal officer and up to life imprisonment for discharging a firearm during a violent crime.
