Upton Man Arrested And Charged With Planting Homemade Bomb At Oil Field Company

A 39-year-old Upton man has been arrested and accused of planting a homemade propane bomb in the tool shed of a Wyoming oil field company near Upton in northeast Wyoming.

David Riggle remains in the Weston County Detention Center on Saturday, held on suspicion of possession of explosives, the jail confirmed to Cowboy State Daily.

He was arrested Wednesday, and is being held on a $10,000 bond after making his first appearance in Weston County Circuit Court on Friday.

The county prosecutor had argued for a $100,000 cash-only bond for Riggle, the Weston County Gazette reported via Facebook on Friday. 

The judge instead decided on $10,000 because the suspect doesn’t appear to be “a threat to the community because he has no criminal record, is employed, and has ties to the Upton community,” according to the Gazette.

The newspaper also reports that if Riggle bonds out, he will have to wear a GPS monitor and can’t venture beyond Weston, Campbell or Crook counties.

Bomb Was ‘The Real Deal’

Weston County Sheriff Bryan Colvard didn’t immediately return a call for more information Saturday, but told Cowboy State Daily after the improvised propane device was found that it appeared to be “the real deal” and was intended to cause damage.

It didn’t, which the sheriff said was very fortunate.

The bomb was apparently planted sometime overnight late Friday, Nov. 29 or in the early morning hours of Nov. 30, Colvard said. It was found in a tool shed by an employee of the oil field services company at about 7:30 or 8 a.m. that Saturday.

Just how the agricultural-sized, 100-pound propane tank was rigged to potentially explode or cause a fire “is difficult to give details about” while the investigation is active, the sheriff said at the time.

He said possible fingerprints were found on the bomb and that he was “hopeful” a suspect would be identified shortly. Riggle was arrested 11 days later.

At the time the bomb was found, the sheriff reported that, “We really don’t have a motive whatsoever, but we’re tracking down the components and potential for fingerprints. Hopefully, those pan out.”

Probably Meant To Start A Fire

While there was potential for an explosion, the sheriff said that a preliminary inspection of the propane bomb showed that it appeared to be rigged to start a fire, not blow up.

“It was designed to allow that propane to fill the doghouse — which is the oil field term for a tool shed — and give it some time before it ignited,” he said. “Don’t know how educated this individual is at making this kind of device.”

While the bomb didn’t go off as intended, Colvard said there’s no doubt in his mind that setting the bomb was an attempt to burn down or destroy that tool shed.

“It was the real deal,” he said.

The Weston County Gazette reports that it will publish more about the bomb and arrest in this week’s print edition.

Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.