PLEA DEAL: Guilty Plea For Firebombing Suspect

A man who played a role in firebombing at a Des Moines apartment building has accepted a plea agreement.

Robert Bell pleaded guilty Monday to one count of aiding and abetting the malicious use of explosive material. In return for his plea, prosecutors dropped three other counts against him.

In January of 2011, Bell helped two other suspects purchase the materials to assemble three Molotov cocktails. The explosives were then detonated at the Deer Ridge apartment complex.

No one was injured in the explosion, but two cars were destroyed.

Bell was on the run for 16 months. The U.S.  Marshal’s service found him hiding in a Des Moines basement in May.

Bell will be sentenced in federal court in November.