Richard Sandberg's allegedly schmucky deal: I'll trade kill-zone bombs for cocaine

Big photos below.

The residents of a Jefferson County neighborhood got the shock -- or maybe we should say schmuck -- of their lives when a slew of officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other agencies swooped in on a nearby home. And they had good reason, according to an affidavit aimed at Richard Sandberg, 35. The document, on view below, says Sandberg used the home as a base to swap bombs for cash or cocaine.

The affidavit credits a confidential informant with revealing to law enforcers that he'd been to Sandberg's residence, located on the 4600 block of South Swadley Way, in early January -- and during his visit, he'd eyeballed numerous firearms and hand grenades. Moreover, Sandberg reportedly wanted to trade the gadgets for nose candy.

Sandberg's home as seen in a Google View image that also captured him in his driveway, shirtless.

To confirm this supposition, an ATF agent working undercover reached out to Sandberg via the informant. During a phone conversation between the two of them, Sandberg claimed to have been a "former Special Ops Recon SS Marine Corps" member (he also had a Marine Corps flag on his lawn). He also offered some advice about explosives that the agent might covet to protect an out building, recommending against incendiaries or napalm -- even though he had the items in stock -- because they burn too hot.

As the conversation continued, Sandberg allegedly boasted that in addition to military ordinance like grenades, he put together his own homemade explosive devices -- or, to put it another way, he "builds his own shit, makes his own shit." He added that the "frags" he created made big booms, not small ones, and produced a "kill zone" of twenty meters and a "hurt zone" of sixty meters.

Rather than getting supplies for these doodads at gun stores, Sandberg said he preferred going to more standard retail establishments like Home Depot. But even though the material was available over the counter, knowing the proper formula was key. The devices are "not firecrackers, not things to play with," but items that were "life or death," he stressed.

At a subsequent meeting with the agent, Sandberg again talked up his Marine Corps credentials before going off on an ideological rant. The document says he "claimed a right-wing declaration of independence/constitutionalist political manifesto and made disparaging remarks about the current administration and them wanting to take away his guns."

Continue for more about our latest Schmuck of the Week, Richard Sandberg.