Final Participants in Des Moines Firebombing Sentenced in Federal Court

DES MOINES, IA — Two Des Moines men were sentenced for their roles in the use of Molotov cocktails in an attempt to destroy an apartment leasing office, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. On November 29, 2012, Dentaro Andre Lee, age 31, was sentenced to a term of 60 months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit malicious damage or destruction by use of explosive materials. Robert Earl Bell, age 36, was sentenced to a term of 51 months imprisonment for malicious use of explosive materials. United States District Court Judge James E. Gritzner also ordered Lee and Bell to each serve a term of three years supervised release following imprisonment, and imposed a $100 crime victim fund assessment for each defendant.

In the early morning of January 3, 2011, Jeremy Dennis and Gregory Harris threw three Molotov cocktails at the leasing office of the Deer Ridge Apartment Complex in Des Moines. The incident resulted in damage to the leasing office building and two vehicles parked nearby. No injuries resulted in the incident. Lee and Bell helped acquire the components to assemble the Molotov cocktails and provided transportation to and from Deer Ridge Apartment Complex that night. Bell, Lee, Dennis and Harris committed the offense in an attempt to conceal a burglary that had occurred at the apartment complex. Dennis was previously sentenced to 22 months imprisonment for malicious use of explosive materials. Harris was sentenced for arson in the 2nd degree in Polk County District Court.

The case was investigated by the Des Moines, Iowa, Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.