YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – A man who pleaded guilty to having explosive materials and the materials used to make them at his home in Youngstown on Tuesday was sentenced to just over two years – 29 months – in federal prison.
Oliver Smith, 52, pleaded guilty to US Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. in the Northern District Court of Ohio on charges of possession of explosive devices, possession of an unregistered silencer, and possession of a firearm.
A federal grand jury Indicted Smith in February after city police and probation officers visited his house in October and found a pistol with a silencer, a rifle, and the arrows.
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The arrows were filled with black powder, as well as nails and ball bearings that can act as shrapnel. After they were found, federal agents were called in to search for additional devices and secure those found.
In a verdict last week, the public prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of 33 to 41 months as a guide. Smith is a threat to the community because of his military training in the manufacture of explosives.
Defense lawyers called for a 24-month sentence. Her client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in Somalia in the 1990s as a member of the US Army and the fighting there.
Smith was on probation from Portage County, which means he was not allowed to have guns in his home.
