WILLIAMS, Ore. – An FBI agent was shot by a booby-trapped wheelchair last month while responding to an Oregon home fortified with several improvised devices, according to court records. The incident has been described as "like a scene from the movie 'Indiana Jones.'"
Law enforcement officials raided the home of Gregory Lee Rodvelt, 66, on September 7 at the request of a real estate lawyer tasked with selling the property, according to court records obtained by Oregon Live. Authorities soon discovered elaborate booby-traps spread throughout the 15-acre property.
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A report described spike strips at the bottom of a driveway, and a rat trap rigged to fire a shotgun round if someone attempted to open a garage door.
And in case you were looking for a photo of Gregory Rodvelt, whose booby-trapped wheelchair shot an an FBI agent in southern Oregon & who turned a hot tub and rat trap into a potentially deadly weapons, here you are. https://t.co/LvtIMk0Chr pic.twitter.com/WHdTEuEC92
— Shane D. Kavanaugh (@shanedkavanaugh) October 2, 2018
Rodvelt was forced to forfeit his property as part of an elder abuse case brought against him by his 90-year-old mother, reports Oregon Live. Rodvelt had been placed in custody last year after an armed standoff in Arizona, but he was released from custody for two weeks in August to prepare to turn over the property, according to the report.
The estate's acting receiver contacted authorities on August 29 after discovering a sign on the property that claimed it was now "protected with improvised devices," according to court records. An FBI agent and three state bomb technicians were tasked with dismantling the devices.
In addition to the other traps, a hot tub had been placed on its side at the top of a hill near an entrance gate to the home. "Upon closer examination, the technicians discovered that the spa was rigged in such a manner that when the gate was opened, it would activate a mechanical trigger that would cause the spa to roll towards the person at the gate," a police report reads. "Much like a scene from the movie 'Indiana Jones.'"
The officers made it past the various traps to the property's home where they blasted open a fortified door, the report says. Inside the home was a wheelchair that, unbeknownst to the officers, was rigged with fishing line and shotgun ammunition. The wheelchair got pushed, triggering the explosion and injuring the agent, according to court records.
The agent was taken to a hospital and treated for a shotgun pellet that was found in his left leg, Oregon Live reports.
Rodvelt was questioned by authorities in Arizona and eventually charged with one felony count of assault on a federal officer, according to officials.