Muncie man who built homemade explosives draws 8-year sentence
MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie man who said he built explosive devices "for self defense" has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Giovanni Jaquel Rembert, now 30, had pleaded guilty to possession of a destructive device or explosive, a Level 2 felony with a maximum 30-year sentence.
Delaware Circuit Court 2 Judge Kimberly Dowling on Thursday imposed a 10-year sentence with two years suspended. A plea agreement called for two other counts of the same crime to be dismissed.
Rembert was arrested in November 2021, when Muncie police were called to a West Noel Drive apartment house after three explosive devices were found, in a backpack, in the building's basement.
Rembert, who lived at that address, told investigators he had made the devices "a long time ago."
More: Second arrest made in Muncie block-party gunfire that left one dead, 17 wounded
The Muncie man said he made the devices "for self defense" and that his goal was to "kill someone before they were able to kill him."
The Muncie man said he was aware of several people who were "possibly trying to harm him."
He also said he believed "shrapnel and bullets would have went everywhere" had he ignited one of the devices, which he referred to as "makeshift anarchist's cookbook grenades."
The Delaware County Sheriff's Department's bomb squad disabled the devices before they were removed from the apartment building.
Rembert was granted credit for 664 days already spent in the Delaware County jail.
In other court news:
Robbery sentence: A Muncie man who pleaded guilty to aiding, inducing or causing armed robbery has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Tanner L. Little, 24, was sentenced Thursday by Delaware Circuit Court 2 Judge Kimberly Dowling. He had also pleaded guilty to unlawful carrying of a handgun.
A plea bargain called for dismissal of a third count, possession of meth. Little received credit for 126 days spent in jail.
City police said Little and a co-defendant — Brock Anthony Watson, now 36 — last September robbed a man at the victim's home in the 1300 block of West 17th Street.
Watson is set to stand trial Nov. 13 on counts of armed robbery, criminal recklessness and theft.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie man gets 8 years for building explosive devices
