ONARGA, Ill. – A 40-year-old Onarga man, James R. Nelson, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for possessing an unregistered destructive device during an April 2025 standoff. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce, will be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Body camera footage presented in court detailed how Nelson, during a routine traffic stop for a suspended registration, refused to exit his vehicle after being informed of an outstanding felony warrant. He then brandished a cylindrical device, threatening to detonate it while attempting to flee through residential areas. Nelson subsequently barricaded himself in his mother’s home for approximately eight hours before law enforcement intervened. A functional bomb was later recovered near his arrest location. The case was investigated by the Iroquois County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI Springfield Field Office, with assistance from the Kankakee County Emergency Response Team and the East Central Illinois Bomb Squad. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Freres prosecuted the case.
Onarga Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Bomb Possession
