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Accomplice Pleads Guilty, Gets 20 Years For Hemet Police Booby Traps

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Nicholas John Smit, left, of Hemet, and Steven William Hansen, of Homeland (courtesy Riverside County District Attorney's office)

Nicholas John Smit, left, of Hemet, and Steven William Hansen, of Homeland (courtesy Riverside County District Attorney’s office)

Brian-Ping

Reporting Brian Ping

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RIVERSIDE (CBS) — A man who helped his roommate set up a series of bizarre booby traps against Hemet police was back behind bars on Tuesday.

KNX 1070′s Brian Ping reports the 20-year prison sentence for Steven Hansen could have potentially been a lot longer.


Hansen, 38, of Homeland, plead guilty on Monday to helping Nicholas Smit attempt to fire a World War II-era bazooka rocket at the Hemet police department building.

The rocket ultimately failed to fire after the launcher was later determined to be a training device.

Hansen, who was paroled just three months before the botched attack, accepted a deal that may have saved him from a life sentence.

Smit was sentenced to four consecutive life terms in December for orchestrating the attacks, which also included a failed pipe bombing and a gas explosion setup that was snuffed out.

He was said to have targeted a Hemet police officer in revenge for a past arrest on drug charges.

No injuries were reported in any of the attacks.

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