NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A Smithfield man was sentenced Thursday to eight years in federal prison for possessing more than 150 improvised explosive devices — the largest number of finished explosives in FBI history — and for having an unregistered short-barrel rifle, according to court records.
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Brad Kenneth Spafford, 36, had pleaded guilty to the charges in federal court in Norfolk back in July. Each charge carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. His sentencing comes a year after he was first taken into custody at his Isle of Wight County home. It followed a two-year investigation.
Spafford was admitted to an emergency room on July 31, 2021, with an amputated right thumb, partially amputated right middle and index fingers, hearing loss, and scalp lacerations, according to court documents. He falsely stated to the hospital that his injuries were caused by fireworks but investigators later determined that the injuries resulted from his misfire of a launcher at a family members’ rural property, where Spafford routinely detonated explosives that he had made.
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Law enforcements arrested Spafford Dec. 17, 2024 for possession of an unregistered short-barrel rifle.
Authorities searched his Smithfield property and vehicles, recovering an unregistered short barrel rifle and ammunition compatible with the rifle…