A federal appeals court has upheld a six-month prison sentence for a Nebraska man who was manufacturing fireworks and explosive devices in a shed behind his Ralston house.
Jeffrey Belmont had argued he shouldn't have been convicted because he was making explosives as a hobby, not a business.
But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the law prohibiting making explosives still applied to Belmont.
Authorities found 36 completed explosives and 28 partially completed devices along with more than 2,000 pounds of chemicals used to make flash powder.
The court says the quantity of materials found shows Belmont was engaged in manufacturing explosives, so it upheld the sentence.
Belmont pleaded guilty last year, but he appealed to question whether the law applied to his hobby.
