Rock River Man Gets Probation In Pipe Bomb Conspiracy

A Rock River man was sentenced to probation today for his role in an alleged pipe bomb murder conspiracy.

William Isaac Ferrill, 31, was sentenced to three years of supervised probation with a three to five year suspended prison sentence for Conspiracy to Manufacture an Improvised Explosives Device. Ferrill pleaded guilty to the crime as part of a plea agreement which dropped a charge of Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree.

The charge comes after Ferrill and two other men, Ryan Brown and Eric Farrar, were accused of conspiring to kill a Cheyenne man with a pipe bomb last October.

Farrar also pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Manufacture an Improvised Explosives Device and will be sentenced later today.

Brown went to trial on a charge of Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree. A jury found Brown guilty of the crime in May, and his sentencing is scheduled for August 13, 2015.

During Ferrill’s sentencing, he told Albany County District Judge Jeffrey Donnell that he should have gone to authorities to inform them of the plot and did what he could to keep the crime from being committed.

“I learned to handle everything myself, no matter what was thrown at me, and that’s what I did in this situation as well,” Ferrill told Donnell.

Randy Hiller, Ferrill’s public defender, asked Donnell for a probation sentence. He told the judge that Ferrill had tried to prevent the other two from killing the Cheyenne man, and he noted that Ferrill has cooperated with the investigation.

Prosecuting Attorney Kurt Britzius asked Donnell to sentence Ferrill to a term of incarceration. He said that he was appreciative of Ferrill’s cooperation in the case, but said the severity of the crime would require some time in prison.

Judge Donnell said that the sentencing was a difficult one, because the crime could have led to someone’s death.

“On the other hand, you’re a young man with no criminal history that got into a situation that you did not create,” he said to Ferrill.

While Donnell said he did not think Ferrill would commit another crime, he said he feared that he would be manipulated into participating in criminal activity and would not report it.

Donnell said he would give Ferrill the benefit of the doubt provided he was less involved in the conspiracy that the others, cooperated with the investigation, took steps to stop the crime, and had testified honestly during Brown’s trial.

In addition to three years of supervised probation, Donnell sentenced Ferrill to 100 hours of community service and told him to take a criminal thinking class.

“I hope I won’t see you back here again,” he told Ferrill.