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They slid near the van equipped with spring jaws of animal traps and avoided a circular whirlpool turned to the side and designed to roll over the intruders who triggered a wire – something that recalls "a scene from the movie "Indiana Jones". "
But the FBI's special agent and the three technicians in state police bombs never went past the empty wheelchair inside the prefabricated house where they entered the Southern Oregon property, according to court records.
At the slightest push, the wheelchair opened fire.
"I am touched!" The federal officer yelled when blood was flowing from his leg, according to a criminal complaint filed in the US District Court in Medford.
Law enforcement officers broke into their homes on September 7 in Williams, a town of 2,200 in Josephine County, at the request of a real estate lawyer to sell the property, according to the records. of the court.
They quickly discovered complex traps littering 15 acres of land off Dreamhill Drive, according to the complaint.
Spike strips at the bottom of the driveway. A rigged rat trap to shoot a shotgun when someone tried to open the door of a detached garage.
Authorities say that makeshift weapons were the work of the former owner, Gregory Lee Rodvelt, 66, who was forced to confiscate his property in connection with a bad case. treatments for elderly people.
In 2016, 90-year-old Rodvelt's mother and guardian filed a civil lawsuit in Josephine County, which resulted in a $ 2.1 million judgment against the son, according to court records. .
Although an armed confrontation in front of Phoenix culminated in his prison last year, Arizona officials released Rodvelt from custody in mid-August, allowing him to fix his problems. and to prepare to surrender his property, according to the complaint filed by the federal government.
Joseph Charter, the interim receiver of the estate, contacted the authorities on August 29 when he discovered a sign on Rodvelt's property stating that it was now "protected by improvised means", according to an archive. court.
Ten days later, the FBI agent and state bomb technicians undertook to dismantle the property's traps, including the hot tub that had been placed at the top of a hill near a door at the entrance of the house.
"After a closer look, the technicians discovered that the spa was arranged so that when the door was opened, it would trigger a mechanical trigger that would turn the spa to the person at the door," reads in the complaint.
"[It was] a bit like a scene from the movie "Indiana Jones – The Lost Ark Adventurers" in which the actor Harrison Ford is forced to overtake a huge stone rock that he inadvertently unleashed with a trap switch. "
After slipping into the hot tub, the mine clearance team and the FBI agent approached the manufactured home of the property and opened its fortified gate, the complaint said.
The court records show that inside the home they found a wheelchair in the hallway who, unbeknownst to them, was equipped with a fishing line, ammunition for shotguns and other items.
In one way or another, the wheelchair was pushed and triggered the explosion that injured the officer.
The agent was transported to the Grants Pass Hospital, about 15 miles away. An x-ray revealed a 410 caliber shotgun bullet in the officer's left leg, under the knee.
Rodvelt was questioned by authorities back in Arizona and finally charged. He faces a charge of assaulting a federal agent.
The records show that Rodvelt is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, resistance to arrest and non-marking of explosives as part of his arrest following the impasse in 2017.
– Shane Dixon Kavanaugh
[email protected]
503-294-7632 || @shanedkavanaugh
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