Konawa Man Sentenced for Attempting to Destroy or Damage Property Using an Explosive

MUSKOGEE, OK—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Daniel Wells Herriman, age 41, of Konawa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment, followed by 36 months of supervised release, for attempting to destroy or damage property by means of an explosive, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(i); and illegal making of a destructive device, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Sections 5861(f), 5822 and 5871.

Herriman was indicted in September 2011 and was found guilty by a federal jury in May, 2012.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Department, Seminole County Sheriff’s Department, Creek Nation Lighthorse Police, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The evidence presented at the trial established that in July and August 2011 the defendant, without lawful authority, made an improvised explosive device or IED. The defendant maliciously attempted to damage and destroy a natural gas pipeline near Okemah, Oklahoma, when he placed the device under the pipeline and set the timer on the device. The device was discovered by a pipeline employee and was disrupted by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Bomb Squad.

The defense claimed Herriman was legally insane at the time of the crime.

The Honorable James H. Payne, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the trial and sentencing.

Herriman will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending transportation to the designated federal prison at which he will serve his non-parolable sentence.

Assistant United States Chris Wilson represented the United States.