United States of America v. James Nelson

Urbana, Illinois criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with knowingly possessingly 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.

The government played the body camera of the Iroquois County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office detective who encountered Nelson during a routine traffic stop. Although the detective advised Nelson that he had a warrant for his arrest on an unrelated charge, Nelson refused to exit the car, forcing the detective to reach into the car and attempt to remove him. As the officer did so, Nelson reached into the back seat and pulled out a gray cylindrical device, telling the detective it was a bomb.

Nelson 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 th

Defendant is committed to the custody of the BOP for a term of 60 months. Following release from custody, the Defendant shall serve a 3 year term of Supervised Release. $100 Special Assessment is imposed.