United States of America v. James R. Nelson

Urbana, Illinois, criminal defense lawyer Meldinda Powers represented the Defendant charged with knowingly possess a destructive device, not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, in violation if 26 U.S.C. Sections 5841, 5861(d), and 5871.

James R. Nelson, age 40, from Onarga, Illinois, possessed an unregistered destructive device and refused to relinquish the bomb and instead sprinted through residential neighborhoods in Onarga with the bomb in his hand while attempting to escape. He made it to his mother’s house, where he barricaded himself for approximately eight hours while police attempted to get him to surrender. Law enforcement eventually forced their way into an attic where Nelson was hiding and arrested him. They found the device, which analysis later revealed to be a functional bomb, near where Nelson was apprehended.

The statutory penalty for possession of an unregistered destructive device is up to ten years of imprisonment, followed by up to three years of supervised release.

The Iroquois County Sheriff’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, investigated the case, with assistance from Kankakee County (Illinois) Emergency Response Team and the East Central Illinois Bomb Squad. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Freres represented the United States in the prosecution.

The Defendant pleaded guilty in October 2025.