HOUSTON – A 26-year-old Houston man is headed to prison for attempting to blow up a Confederate statue in Hermann Park almost a year ago.
U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. sentenced Andrew Schneck to more than six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.
Schneck caused a huge commotion on August 19, 2017, when a Houston park ranger witnessed him bending down in front of the Richard Dowling statue, with two boxes that appeared to have duct tape and wires attached. Schneck briefly attempted to drink one of the explosive liquids, but spit it out.
Cops arrested Schneck and the field test on the materials in his possession came back positive for nitroglycerin and hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, two highly potent explosives. A portion of the community near Rice Village had to be evacuated as ATF, FBI and Houston police searched Schneck’s home for bomb-making materials.
Schneck was previously accused of explosive-related charges in 2013. He pleaded guilty to ‘not conforming to storage of explosive materials’ and he paid a $160,000 fine.
Schneck has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
