Burlington man who brought explosives to police station sentenced in federal court
A Burlington man who had explosive materials with him at the Burlington police station after being arrested last fall was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in federal court on Tuesday.
Aaron Drake Jenkins, 39, pleaded guilty on June 24 to a federal charge of possession of unregistered destructive devices. Chief Judge Stephanie M. Rose sentenced Jenkins to 46 months in federal prison, three years of supervised released and a $100 special assessment.
The case stems from an incident that took place in Burlington on Nov. 3, 2021.
While responding to a home in the 1300 block of North Sixth Street, officers spoke with a man who said Jenkins had walked through his yard and was told to leave. Jenkins started yelling at the man and asking "various nonsensical questions," like where the man went to church, according to a federal criminal complaint.
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The resident also told police Jenkins had charged at him like he was going to attack before running away from the scene.
When officers found Jenkins at a nearby cemetery, he was yelling "nonsensical statements and questions" at them, according to the complaint. Police searched Jenkins at the scene, and said they found a knife in his shoe, a slingshot he was carrying over his arm and a backpack.
As he was handing his backpack to officers, he said "here are my weapons," according to the complaint.
Officers transported Jenkins to the Burlington police station, searched his backpack and discovered three metal pipes containing fuses and black powder, which the Iowa State Crime Lab later determined to be explosive.
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The State Fire Marshal's Division was called to inspect the bag and devices. It was determined that "each device was an explosive, incendiary, bomb," according to the complaint. None of the three devices were registered to the National Firearm Registration and Transfer Record, the complaint says.
On Nov. 4, police searched Jenkins' home and found similar materials, the complaint says.
Jenkins initially was charged in Des Moines County with three counts of unauthorized possession of offensive weapons, a class D felony, and three counts of interference with official acts resulting in injury, a serious misdemeanor.
On Jan. 21, those charges were dismissed after the federal charge was filed and Jenkins was taken into federal custody.
Jenkins was represented by federal public defenders Terence McAtee and Diane Helphrey, both of Davenport. The case was tried by William Reiser Ripley and Craig Gaumer of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Davenport.
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Prior to sentencing, Jenkins' attorney advised the court that he had accepted responsibility for his actions. His attorney said Jenkins has a history of drug abuse and mental health issues, suffered head injuries from a motorcycle accident when he was a teenager, was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of his arrest, and is interested in future substance abuse treatment, according to court documents.
In her sentencing ruling, Rose recommended Jenkins carry out his prison sentence either at the men's federal prison in Sandstone, Minnesota, or Greenville, Illinois.
Jenkins is currently under the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Man sentenced for possessing explosives at Burlington police station
