Apache Junction man sentenced in pipe bomb case

PHOENIX - A man from Apache Junction was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing and transporting an explosive device.

Jeffrey Harbin, 29, had admitted that in January 2011 he knowingly possessed and transported an unregistered destructive device, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

He also admitted to building the grenade-like objects using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe, an improvised fusing system, and a filling of black powder and ball bearings, according to the statement.

Harbin has ties to the National Socialist Movement according to a former member.

He was stopped by law enforcement with one of the devices in his vehicle in Apache Junction on January 14, 2011. Harbin was indicted on January 26 on three counts.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said the design of the "device was significant in that the inclusion and placement of the BBs within the device rendered it capable of maximizing both injury and fatality."

Harbin at times kept the device in his apartment where he lived with his girlfriend and children.

"Harbin's design of the device is powerful evidence that he intended it to be capable of causing serious physical injury and death," said Acting U.S. Attorney Ann Birmingham Scheel.