FBI Makes Arrest In Pipeline Bomb Case

Dana Hertneky, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Federal Bureau Of Investigation announced the arrest of a Konawa man on Friday, for attaching a bomb to a gas line near Okemah on Wednesday.

According to the FBI, 40-year-old Daniel Wells Herriman was arrested for attempting to destroy real property used in interstate or foreign commerce.

According to the federal documents, an improvised explosive device (IED) was found attached to a gas pipeline at the Enerfin Resources gas pipeline near Okemah.

"This was not a hoax," said Special Agent in Charge James E. Finch of the FBI.

The device was removed and rendered safe by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Bomb Squad.

08/11/2011 Related Story: FBI Promises More Information On Gas Line Bomb Case.

Police say on Wednesday, after the bomb was found the Seminole County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from Herriman. "I set the bomb under the pipeline in Okemah," he told the dispatcher.

Police searched Herriman's house and found items consistent with the components of the IED found on the gas pipeline.

Federal documents say the device was made of two PVC pipes filled with a substance believed to be black power, with nails glued around the outside. It also contained a green propane tank, batteries, broken light bulbs and a wind-up style alarm clock.

"I would have done damage and that's a problem no matter how serious," said Agent Finch. "Any time you blow a hole in a pipeline it's pretty serious."

According to court papers, Herriman told agents "he placed the IED under the pipeline on Sunday, August 7, 2011 and set the timer on the device for 2:00 a.m."

Fortunately it didn't go off as planned.

"Thank goodness he is not the greatest bomb maker," said Special Agent Finch.

Agent Finch says they are still investigating if Herriman was associated with any group.

"We certainly will pursue those avenues to determine if there is a connection to any group and in terms of his motivation we may never know what his true motivation was," said Agent Finch.

Herriman however, did tell 9-1-1 dispatchers he was mentally ill.

"I'm schizoid effective, I hear voices and I can't control them anymore and I need help," he said.

Agent Finch says in this case the public private partnerships that we have established working well.

The workers who found the device knew what to look for and had the right number to call.

Herriman is charged with attempting to damage or destroy property by means of an explosive.

He will make his first appearance in Federal court on Monday.