Man convicted of having bomb-making materials will stay in jail pending probation revocation

CEDAR RAPIDS - A federal judge Tuesday ordered a Fayette County man, who was convicted of having bomb-making materials in his home, to remain in jail pending a hearing to possibly revoke his probation.

Amy Moser, a federal probation officer, testified Trevor J. Satrom, 35, of Oran, had been evicted from his rental home in July because he hadn't paid his rent and wouldn't allow the landlord on the property. When took over his supervision two months ago she set up goals he must attain, which he failed to do.

Moser said he failed to comply with mental health treatment, to comply with probation officer and to find stable residency.

Satrom told Moser he was temporarily staying a campground area and sleeping in his van until he could find a place to live. Satrom, as a veteran, receives $2,100 a month and is on full disability for his mental health issues resulting from his time in military service, but he told Moser he couldn't pay his rent because he had other bills to pay.

Satrom also stopped taking his medication for anxiety and schizophrenia, which is a special condition of his five year probation sentence. His GPS monitoring also showed his was gambling at a casino, which he went to 15 times this year.

He left the campground Sept. 2 and was arrested Sept. 8 in Mason City, which is two or three hours from the camp site, Moser testified.

Moser recommended that he stay in custody or in a halfway house pending his revocation hearing next week.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Morfitt argued that based on Satrom's his conviction and his refusal to stay on medication for his mental issues, he should remain in jail to protect the community.

Les Stokke, Satrom's lawyer, asked that he be placed in a halfway house or community corrections.

U.S. Magistrate Mark Roberts thanked Satrom for his military service, and then reminded him that he was given a break with probation.

'Then everything went off the rails when you're not taking your medication,” Roberts noted.

Satrom didn't met his burden of proving that he wasn't a danger to the community and would show up for future court proceedings, Robert said. He was ordered to remain in custody pending his revocation hearing on Wednesday.

Satrom was convicted last year of one count of possession of a National Firearms Act device not registered to him. He admitted to having three pipe bombs and a pressure cooker bomb on Feb. 10, 2016, in his Fayette County home.

He also admitted to knowing they were explosive bombs and the devices were not registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by federal law.

In 2016, authorities recovered from Satrom's home more than 30 pounds of black gunpowder, steel pipes threaded with drilled endcaps, two pressure cookers, a 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, a criminal complaint shows.

The materials he possessed were similar to those used in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, according to court documents.

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