James Rosencrans, a next-door neighbor of Fortier in Kingman, Ariz., allegedly sold a rare rifle that had been stolen from an Arkansas gun collector last Nov. 5.

The collector, Roger E. Moore of Royal, Ark., suspects McVeigh of masterminding the robbery, and authorities are looking at that crime and other evidence of illegal weapons sales as possible sources of financing for the bombing.

Prosecutors have been trying to reach a plea bargain with Fortier, who was an Army buddy of McVeigh and helped him get a job in Kingman, on a lesser charge in the bombing case.

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They are insisting that Fortier plead guilty to a crime that would ensure a 15-year prison sentence, a demand that he and his lawyer apparently are resisting.

One source close to the case said that Rosencrans’ scheduled appearance before the grand jury does not necessarily signal that a deal with Fortier had fallen through.

The source noted that prosecutors would continue to collect evidence from Rosencrans, even if Fortier had agreed to cooperate .

Rosencrans, 29, who often totes a pistol on his belt, is a mercurial individual who bitterly denounces government and who has been arrested at least six times, according to records on file in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman.

The last of those arrests occurred in May when he was charged with brandishing weapons outside his home as authorities searched Fortier’s nearby house trailer. That charge was dropped when Rosencrans pleaded guilty to a domestic abuse complaint. He served less than a month in jail.

The grand jury’s interest in Rosencrans includes the allegation that he recently sold a rifle to a Kingman gun shop that authorities have matched with one of the more than 68 firearms stolen from Moore.