Man pleads guilty to storing illegal weapons and explosives in Bellevue storage shed

A Spokane man who was arrested in January after crates of military weapons were found in a Bellevue storage shed pleaded guilty this morning to five federal charges related to the illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Ronald Struve, 65, faces up to 78 months in prison when he is sentenced on June 5.

Under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Struve pleaded guilty to five charges in U.S. District Court in Seattle involving the illegal possession of plastic explosives, a North Vietnamese machine gun, a silencer, grenade launcher and a grenade. He had originally faced a 117-count indictment.

Struve was arrested in January after federal agents found a cache of weapons and explosives in a Bellevue commercial storage shed. Agents discovered the arsenal after contents of the shed were auctioned after Struve and another man failed to pay the storage fees.

The new owner found crates and boxes filled with weapons and ammunition, included two grenade launchers, dozens of live grenades, military-grade plastic explosives and 37 machine guns.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) raided other storage sheds and Struve's Spokane home, where additional weapons were found. ATF said many of the weapons were Vietnam-era military-issue and appeared to have been stolen.

One of the high-explosive grenades had been "dud fired," meaning it could have exploded if mishandled.

Prosecutors charged Struve with illegally possessing automatic weapons and illegally storing explosives.

Struve's attorney, Jay Stansell, said at a hearing in January that his client was a "loner-type person with some unusual political beliefs." He had been in possession of the weapons for years, Stansell said, and was apparently keeping them anticipation of Armageddon.

Prosecutors this morning said they still didn't know how Struve came to possess the weapons and explosives.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com