Oran man found with bomb-making materials is charged in federal court

A Fayette County man found with bomb-making materials in his home last month, including some similar to those used in the Boston Marathon bombing, will be prosecuted in federal court.

Trevor J. Satrom, 33, of Oran, was indicted last week in U.S. District Court for possession of a National Firearms Act device not registered to him. He is accused of having three explosive bombs described as pipe bombs and one described as a pressure cooker bomb. Satrom failed to register any of these destructive devices in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by federal law.

If convicted, Satrom faces up to 10 years in federal prison and $250,000 fine and supervised release following any prison time.

Satrom appeared March 25 in U.S. District Court and held without bond.

Satrom was hospitalized on Feb. 10 and a day after his release on March 4, he was arrested and charged with unlawful possession and storage of explosive materials, Fayette County Sheriff Marty Fisher said last week.

Fisher said Satrom was being held on a $100,000 bail in county jail until his indictment March 23. The state charges won't be pursued.

A criminal complaint shows that during a search warrant executed at Satrom's home, authorities recovered more than 30 pounds of black gunpowder, steel pipes threaded with drilled endcaps, two pressure cookers, fuse, BBs, shredded metal for shrapnel, a flamethrower capable of unleashing a 50-foot flame, napalm mix for the flamethrower, body armor, several guns, rifles and smoke grenades.

Pressure cookers were used as the explosives in the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.

Fisher previously said Satrom's home is located near a restaurant and other residences in the heart of the unincorporated community.

Satrom's computers and electronic devices were also seized and have been sent to the DCI lab, Fisher said. He declined to provide more details of the investigation, launched by his office Feb. 4, or what led to the investigation.

Satrom's trial is set for May 23.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Williams and was investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.