Jason Vanduyn Gets 151 Months for Truck Bomb Plot

Jason Vanduyn, 41, of Machesney Park, is headed to federal prison for more than 12 years after masterminding a revenge-fueled plot to blow up a pickup truck with an explosive device. Vanduyn was sentenced today to 151 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard, followed by three years of supervised release. The blast, carried out in the early hours of June 12, 2015, targeted a vehicle tied to a man Vanduyn had fought with days earlier in a brutal fistfight.

The scheme wasn’t a solo act. Vanduyn recruited two Rockford men — Brian Burd, 48, and Robert Warmoth, 43 — to carry out the attack, offering payment and supplying the explosive used in the arson. According to court documents, Vanduyn admitted to the conspiracy in a plea agreement filed Sept. 19, 2016. His motive: retaliation. After the June 7 fight, he set his sights on destruction, turning to violence to settle a personal score.

On the night of the bombing, Warmoth drove Burd to a location near Theodore Street in Loves Park, where the truck was parked. Burd smashed a window, placed the explosive inside, and fled before the device detonated. The explosion caused significant damage but, by sheer luck, no one was injured. The truck was gutted, but the owner walked away physically unharmed — a narrow escape from a far deadlier outcome.

Burd and Warmoth pleaded guilty to the same arson conspiracy charge on August 8, 2016. On December 12, 2016, both were sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, with three years of supervised release to follow. Judge Reinhard also ordered the trio to pay $12,000 in restitution, jointly and severally, to cover the damage caused by the blast.

The case was spearheaded by federal and local forces working under the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. Agencies involved included the FBI, ATF, Loves Park Police Department, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department, and Rockford Police Department. The multi-agency effort underscores the coordinated response to violent crime in the Rockford area, where street-level grudges can escalate into federal offenses.

Zachary T. Fardon, then U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced the sentencing alongside top law enforcement officials, including FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Michael J. Anderson and ATF Acting Special Agent-in-Charge George Lauder. Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret J. Schneider prosecuted the case, ensuring all three men faced consequences for their role in the fiery scheme. The message is clear: revenge doesn’t belong on the streets — or in the federal penitentiary system.