TOPEKA, KAN. - A Topeka man was sentenced Monday to a year and a day for making a bomb, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Joseph E. Rogers, 36, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of making a destructive device. In his plea, he admitted that on Nov. 12, 2012, officers of the Topeka Police Department stopped him and co-defendant Kyle C. Roe. Roe was immediately taken into custody on an active felony warrant. Roe told police that he had a bomb in his pocket.
When Rogers was interviewed, he told investigators that he had constructed explosive devices for the entertainment value. Rogers talked about using PVC pipe, wrapped in tape and filled with smokeless powder removed from ammunition.
Co-defendant Kyle C. Roe was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.
Grissom commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Topeka Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hathaway for their work on the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys