March 13, 2018
By Paragon News Director Paul Joseph ––
The federal trial of a Sayre man, scheduled to begin Tuesday in an Oklahoma City courtroom has been postponed.
This makes the second postponement for the 23-year-old man who remains in the custody of the US Marshall’s Service.
Jerry Drake Varnell was scheduled for trial Tuesday morning in front of Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange on charges of attempted destruction of property used in and affecting interstate travel. He was first scheduled to go to trial on January 9 of this year, but the defense and prosecution filed a joint motion to reschedule the trial to May. At that time, the Judge only granted an extension to March 13. Now, however, it’s been rescheduled to the second Tuesday in May, May 8.
Varnell was arrested early Saturday morning, August 12, after authorities say he tried to blow up a bank in Oklahoma City.
According to the FBI, the device, which Varnell believed to be a bomb, was inert.
He was captured around 1 a.m. after he attempted to detonate what he thought was an explosives-laden van in the alley next to the bank.
The complaint against Varnell alleges that he initially wanted to blow up the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C., with a device similar to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing at the Murrah Federal Building because he was upset with the government.
If convicted, Varnell could face up to 25 years in prison and up t a $250-thousand dollar fine.
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