Man with weapons stockpile, cyanide sentenced to 11 years

TYLER, Texas -- A man who stockpiled machine guns, bombs and enough cyanide to kill everyone inside a building the size of a small-town civic center was sentenced Tuesday to more than 11 years in prison.

William Krar, 63, pleaded guilty in November to possessing a dangerous chemical weapon and could have gotten life in prison. His common-law wife, Judith Bruey, 55, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess illegal weapons and was sentenced to nearly five years.

In April 2003, federal agents raided storage units the couple had rented in Noonday, just south of Tyler in East Texas.

Agents found nearly a half-million rounds of ammunition, pipe bombs, machine guns, and enough sodium cyanide to kill everyone in a space as big as a high school basketball arena, authorities said.

The findings led to one of the most extensive investigations of domestic terrorism since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Galen Oakes, a friend of Bruey's, said she was duped into following Krar.

"It's kind of a sad day when a gentleman of questionable character destroys the life of a good lady. She was a good person, but she got the wrong guy," he said.

Bruey's attorney, Eric Albritton, said Bruey knew Krar was storing military surplus equipment, but she had no idea about the sodium cyanide. He described Bruey as a "typical middle-aged housewife" who is "still very much in love."