Oregon man sentenced for creating ‘Indiana Jones’-inspired booby traps that injured federal officer

MEDFORD, Ore. (TCD) — A 72-year-old man will spend more than 12 years in federal prison for creating “Indiana Jones”-style booby traps in his home that injured a federal officer several years ago.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced Wednesday, Dec. 6, that a judge sentenced Gregory Rodvelt to 150 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. A jury convicted him in June of assaulting a federal officer and using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

On Sept. 7, 2018, Oregon State Police bomb technicians and the FBI responded to a property formerly owned by Rodvelt. He had reportedly lost the property during a lawsuit, and when he learned the place was going to be sold, Rodvelt set up booby traps.

According to the criminal complaint, upon authorities’ arrival, they noticed a minivan blocking the front gate containing two booby traps with steel teeth typically used to catch animals. Technicians didn’t observe any explosives within the booby traps on the minivan, so they continued to approach the home.

The criminal complaint says there was a hot tub near the home that had been “rigged in such a manner that when the gate was opened it would activate a mechanical trigger that would cause the spa to roll towards the person at the gate much like a scene from the movie ‘Indiana Jones — Raiders of the Lost Ark’ in which actor Harrison Ford is forced to outrun a giant stone boulder that he inadvertently triggered by a booby trap switch.”

The windows of the home were reportedly barred from the inside, and there were bullet holes in the front door. According to the attorney’s office, authorities came upon a “rat trap modified to accept a shotgun shell” in the garage that was connected to the main garage door.

The technicians used an explosive charge to gain access to the inside of Rodvelt’s home and noticed another booby trap. There was reportedly a wheelchair that, when bumped, “triggered a homemade shotgun device that discharged a .410 shotgun shell that struck the FBI bomb technician below the knee.” The federal officer was transported to a local hospital, where he was treated for the injury and released.

In a statement, Nathan Lichvarcik, chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eugene and Medford Branch Offices, said, “Fueled by anger and bitterness, this defendant booby trapped a property in southern Oregon with intent to seriously injure someone. Unfortunately, his trap worked, and he injured an FBI bomb technician.”

Kieran Ramsey, special agent in charge of the FBI Portland Field Office, added, “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.”

Prior to the federal officer’s assault, Rodvelt had previously been arrested in Arizona for unlawful possession of explosives.

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