Jun 28, 2008 - 04:07:59 CDT
A Bismarck man accused of making a sparkler bomb last July will serve a sentence on the state charge at the same time as he serves a federal sentence for charges related to making a pipe bomb.Doug Feist, 31, entered a guilty plea to Class Cfelony possession of explosives to South Central DistrictJudge Sonna Anderson on Friday at the Burleigh County Courthouse.
Anderson sentenced Feist to one year and one day in prison, which will run at the same time as Feist serves a 70-month federal sentence for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and conspiracy to manufacture and possess a destructive device.
Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Julie Lawyer said Bismarck police responded to a downtown Bismarck apartment on July 6, 2007, after people in the area reported hearing an explosion.
Remnants of sparklers were located, and it was discovered someone had configured numerous sparklers in such a way as to cause an explosion. Feist and Everett Bartlett were accused of building the sparkler bomb. Bartlett pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless endangerment and received a suspended sentence.
In 2004, Feist was charged with possession of a bomb or explosive device after Andrew Greff detonated a pipe bomb at the "Desert," which blew off Greff's arm. Feist's probation for that conviction was revoked Friday after he admitted to four probation violations. Anderson ordered him to serve the remainder of a five-year sentence, also at the same time as the federal sentence. Feist previously served 328 days on the charge.
Lawyer recommended the sentences imposed Friday by Anderson. She said giving Feist sentences longer than his federal sentences wouldn't serve a purpose. Feist's appointed defense attorney, Justin Vinje, agreed with Lawyer's recommendation, though he asked for a one-year sentence, rather than one year and one day, in the sparkler bomb case. Such a sentence would have made the offense a misdemeanor on Feist's record.
Feist will be on supervised probation for two years following his release on the federal charges, which are related to Feist building a pipe bomb and using it to blow up a well house in Kidder County. There is no parole in the federal system.
Feist, whose criminal history also includes convictions for setting off fireworks in a Burleigh County public bathroom and detonating a Molotov cocktail in Morton County, thanked Anderson for the sentence and said he wants to get his life on track.
"There's not much I can say, because I'm in the wrong," he said.
(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)
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