Fayette County man convicted of having pipe, pressure cooker bombs

An Oran man was convicted Monday in federal court for having bomb-making materials - including some similar to those used in the Boston Marathon bombing - in his home last February.

Trevor J. Satrom, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a National Firearms Act device not registered to him in U.S. District Court. Satrom, during a plea hearing, admitted to having three pipe bombs and a pressure cooker bomb on Feb. 10 in his Fayette County residence.

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

A criminal complaint shows that during a search at Satrom's home, authorities recovered 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.

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

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

U.S. District Chief Magistrate Jon Scoles said because Satrom has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia, the defense and prosecution are both recommending five years probation, instead of prison time. Scoles told Satrom that the joint recommendation on sentencing wasn't guaranteed because Judge Leonard T. Strand would have discretion.

A competency evaluation by the Bureau of Prisons had been conducted on Satrom before he pleaded and he was found competent to stand trial. Satrom also agreed to forfeit the items found in his home.

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 in February.

The state charges have been dismissed because of the federal case.

Satrom's home is located near a restaurant and other residences in the unincorporated community of Oran.