An Oakland man was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for mailing two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with the intention of harming or killing the intended recipients.
Ross Gordon Laverty, 61, was formally convicted by a federal jury in October 2014 for shipping two IEDs with a nickel coin glued to a pipe that was intended to discharge like a projectile, according to a July 14 Department of Justice news release.
“My heart goes out to the innocent victims of these horrific acts," U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds said in the release. "Ross Laverty not only injured the victims, he put mail carriers and handlers and numerous others at risk of serious injury and death. The public must be protected from such reckless, violent crimes. I thank our law enforcement partners, both federal and local, who worked long and hard to solve and prosecute these crimes.”
According to the release, Laverty's actions were fueled by vengeance, with the intended victims including a prison guard who strip-searched Laverty in a San Mateo correctional facility in April 2014 as well as an Alameda Police Department officer who conducted a probation search of Laverty's home in October 2013.
Laverty's packages reportedly failed to reach his intended targets and instead harmed others, including an East Palo Alto man working at Whole Foods who shared the same name as one of Laverty's intended targets, the release reported.
“This desperate and shocking attack on our partners in law enforcement did real harm to customers of the U.S. Postal Service," Acting Inspector-in-Charge Kevin Rho of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, San Francisco Division, said in the release. "Today’s sentence demonstrates our unity of purpose in protecting the public from dangerous items in the mail."
Laverty's 40-year sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick, who also ordered Laverty pay restitution to his victims as well as serve a three-year period of supervision upon his release.
