Officials arrest solder who confessed to stealing mortars

by **evilskippy** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:27 pm

Heard about this on the local snooze this evening... hmm... <a href="http://makeashorterlink.com/?S6AF3257B">makeashorterlink.com/?S6AF3257B</a> 07/16/2005 Officials arrest solder who confessed to stealing mortars Bob Campbell Midland Reporter-Telegram Already in federal custody for possession of child pornography, a 26-year-old Midland man has been arrested for stealing two military mortar rounds while he was in the Army at Ft. Stewart, Ga. Nathan Duane Rowell took the rounds, or shells -- one a non-explosive practice round and the other a highly explosive device that didn't have a detonator at the tip, officers said. Rowell confessed when interviewed Thursday by Deputy U.S. Marshal Jason Ladd of Midland and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives Agent Robert Burtha of Lubbock, they said. ATFE Agent in Charge Felix Garcia of Lubbock said Friday a report will be submitted to the U.S. Attorney's Office here for consideration of charges. "We had an ongoing investigation, and with the media coverage the word got out," he said. "Relying on sources, we developed information that led us to this one person. The explosive round was the equivalent of seven pounds of TNT." Although the explosive round wouldn't have blown up if fired by a mortar, the explosives could have been removed from it to make a bomb, Garcia said. "It could have been counter-charged and used to improvise devices like the enemy does in Iraq," he explained. Acting on a tip, marshals, Midland County deputies and police bomb squads from Midland and Odessa found the devices Wednesday in a storage unit in the 1400 block of Carter Avenue in south Midland. A disposal unit from Dyess Air Force Base was summoned to evaluate and store them at the Abilene air base. A mortar is a short, tubular cannon that fires its shells in a high arc, enabling them to come down over obstacles like walls and scatter high velocity shrapnel, or shards of metal. Often used in combinations of two or three, mortars can be fired with great precision and blanket a large area in a short time. "Deputy Marshal Ladd and Agent Burtha, our certified high explosives expert, interviewed Rowell," Garcia said. "He confessed he had taken both rounds from the military installation he was stationed at for four years in Ft. Stewart, Ga. "Any time we find military explosives, we contact the explosive ordnance devices team at Dyess. They have personnel who are highly trained to dismantle these devices." Garcia said citizens who see or find explosives or illegal firearms should contact either a local law enforcement agency or his office at (806) 798-1030, which accepts collect calls.

by **evilskippy** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:17 pm

This article has a little more info about what the police found: <a href="http://www.oaoa.com/news/nw071505b.htm">www.oaoa.com/news/nw071505b.htm</a> ---- Mortar found in Midland was live Marshal: Shell similar to those used in Iraq By David J. Lee Odessa American MIDLAND One of two mortar rounds found Wednesday in a Midland warehouse is similar to what’s being used by Iraqi insurgents and is capable of covering a mile radius in an explosion, U.S. Marshals said. “It contained 5.8 pounds of what they call ‘composition B’ explosive,” Phill Maxwell, senior deputy U.S. Marshal, said. “That’s equal to 6.7 pounds of TNT. “… The fragmentation of this explosive could cover a mile radius,” he said. U.S. Marshals found two mortar rounds Wednesday in a warehouse at 1420 Carter St., near downtown Midland. “This one had not been fired,” Maxwell said. “This is the type of explosive device that’s really popular in Iraq right now. They use it for roadside bombs.” Even though the mortar was a live round, Maxwell said it was not set to go off. “This particular explosive, the thing is, it didn’t have a fuse or detonator connected to it,” he said. “As it sits right now, it won’t explode, even if you dropped it. It has to have a fuse to detonate.” Marshals said they received a tip that the mortars were in town and had to do some investigating to find where they were. “We had information that there were two mortar rounds in a Midland house,” Maxwell said. “Our main concern was that we didn’t know what the status of these things were as far as being live or dangerous. It was critical to us to find them, isolate them and get them evaluated by the right people and moved out of the neighborhood.” After finding the mortars at the warehouse, Maxwell said Marshals called the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as the Midland Police Department bomb unit and Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene. “We had a meeting this morning with the PD bomb unit and the Air Force personnel who came out from Abilene,” Maxwell said. “They identified the smaller of the two mortars as an 81-mm practice round,” he said. “It was empty, completely defused. There were no explosives in it, just residue. It was basically harmless.” The larger was identified as a 4.2-inch cartridge live round. According to the Midland Police Department, the two rounds are being held at the police firing range until Air Force personnel take them away for disposal. Maxwell said the ATF and Marshals are investigating the case. It was still unclear Thursday how the mortars got in the warehouse, but Maxwell said once an owner is found, there could be criminal charges. “If they were stolen from the military, we have ‘stolen government property,’ ” he said. “If they were brought into the U.S. illegally, we have ‘smuggling of explosives.’ If they were possessed by someone who wasn’t licensed to have them, then we have that, also. “There’re several different things that are potential charges,” he said. “We just have to let the smoke clear and see exactly what we have.” The Marshals Service worked quickly to find the mortars and get them defused for public safety, Maxwell said. “Even though it didn’t have a fuse, someone, if they got their hands on a fuse, could have detonated it,” Maxwell said. “That’s not out of the possibility that someone could have done that. ---- Also came across this from 2002, I don't know if it's connected or not, just thought it was interesting, that these guys were from the same base. <a href="http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/051602/">www.savannahnow.com/stories/051602/</a> Fort Stewart soldier jailed in Florida on $5 million bond Police believe soldier tried to plant explosive device at power plant. By Noelle Phillips Savannah Morning News Jacksonville, Fla., police arrested a Fort Stewart soldier Saturday after finding him armed, wearing black clothes and leaving a power plant where he allegedly left an explosive. Spc. Derek Lawrence Peterson, 27, is being held on a $5 million bond by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Department of Corrections. He has been charged with attempting to detonate an explosive device. Peterson belongs to B Company, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor and has been stationed at Fort Stewart since March, said Dina McCain, a Fort Stewart spokeswoman. McCain said she did not know whether Army investigators were involved with the case and referred all questions about it to Jacksonville police. An officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office stopped Peterson at 11:15 p.m. Saturday for speeding. The officer found Peterson wearing all black clothing and black, plastic pads on his knees and elbows, according to a sheriff's department report. He also had a pistol in a shoulder holster. The officer recognized Peterson's black 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pickup because he had noticed it backed up to the Florida Power and Light station's main gate 30 minutes earlier as he drove to assist another officer. The officer searched Peterson's truck and found a 12-inch knife, a six-inch knife, a 12-gauge shotgun, shotgun shells, .45-caliber bullets, four ammo magazines, a six-volt battery, duct tape, speaker wire and plastic from an explosive device, the report said. After being informed of his rights, wrote arresting officer D.F. Valiante, "the suspect advised me that he was on the power plant property to practice recon tactics." Police followed footprints on a dirt road at the power plant and found an explosive device underneath the power lines, the report said. Peterson allegedly told police he had placed a Hoffman explosive device, equal in power to a half-stick of dynamite. He had planned to detonate the explosive but was worried that he would be injured in the blast, the report said. Instead, Peterson removed a six-volt battery and threw it into the woods. A bomb squad disposed of the explosive. Peterson's next court date is June 4. He is not allowed visitors at the jail, according to the corrections department. Military reporter Noelle Phillips can be reached at phillips @ savannahnow.com or 652-0366.

Officials arrest solder who confessed to stealing mortars

Officials arrest solder who confessed to stealing mortars

little more info

Who is online