Donald K. Novy, 35, of Dittmer has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for trading a pipe bomb for what he believed was methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
Novy pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm, and on Feb. 11, he was sentenced in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois, to 48 months in prison, according to court records.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives got a tip in November 2018 that Novy was willing to make a pipe bomb for a meth dealer, who wanted to throw it into the living room or car of a customer who owed the dealer money, the indictment said.
As part of a sting operation, the ATF had an informant record two phone calls with Novy in November 2018, when they arranged the exchange. The informant told Novy he would give him three-fourths of an ounce of meth in exchange for the bomb, the report said.
On Nov. 16, 2018, Novy met the informant in Columbia, Ill., and showed him how to use the bomb before exchanging it for fake meth provided by the ATF. As Novy left the area, he was arrested. ATF agents found a 9mm Taurus semi-automatic pistol in his vehicle, according to the report.
Novy told agents he had been using meth daily since 2013, and he said he had used the drug the morning of his arrest. As a regular drug user, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm, the report said.