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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

BLAKE RYAN STEIDLER

:

:

:

MAGISTRATE NO. O5 -166-M

GOVERNMENT'S MOTION FOR PRETRIAL DETENTION

The defendant Blake Ryan Steidler has proven himself to be a dangerous man. 

After threatening his doctor over the telephone, the defendant built an explosive device out of a

CO2 cartridge and gun powder, drove it across state lines, and mailed it to the doctor in Illinois. 

The defendant thereafter confessed to authorities that he designed the explosive device

specifically to burn the doctor’s hands. The defendant has written that his purpose in life is to

harm the doctor, and he has proven himself capable of building a device to do so. In sum, the

government has collected powerful evidence that the defendant committed the charged offenses

and that he poses a most serious danger to the community.

Because no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the

safety of the community, the government moves pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 3142(e) and (f) for a

detention hearing and pretrial detention of the defendant. 

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I. THE FACTS

In support of this motion, the government makes the following representations

and proposed findings of fact:

A. Probable Cause And The Evidence In This Case

1. There is probable cause to believe that the defendant has violated Title 18

United States Code, Sections 844(d) and (e), as charged in the criminal complaint filed on

February 14, 2005. 

2. The evidence in this case is strong.

a. On February 12, 2005, the defendant called 911 and reported that

he had placed an explosive device in a mailbox in Ohio. He

described the device as being a 4" x 4" jewelry box that was

comprised of a CO2 cartridge and black gun powder, designed to

ignite once the box was opened. 

b. A parcel matching defendant’s description was recovered by U.S.

Postal Inspectors in Youngstown, Ohio. A bomb squad confirmed

the nature of the device and disrupted the device before it hurt

anyone.

c. When brought in for questioning, the defendant admitted that he

had mailed the device from Ohio to Illinois as an act of revenge

against a physician who had performed cosmetic surgery on him

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approximately 1 1/2 years earlier, which surgery had resulted in

serious complications.

d. The defendant also admitted that he had harassed the physician by

telephone until the police ordered him to stop.

e. Agents searching defendant’s home in Pennsylvania recovered

CO2 materials as well as the wires and electrical components

needed to build the explosive device. Agents also recovered a flyer

depicting the physician,and a piece of paper containing the

physician’s address.

B. Maximum Penalties

Defendant currently faces a maximum sentence of ten years of imprisonment. 18

U.S.C. §§ 844(d), (e). A conservative analysis of the United States Sentencing Guidelines, as

they apply to the charged violations and to other violations likely to be charged, indicates that

defendant faces at least approximately seven years of of incarceration.

C. Other Indications that Defendant Poses a Danger to the Community

All of the evidence indicates that the defendant is an extremely dangerous man.

After suffering complications from his cosmetic surgery, the defendant began calling and

threatening the surgeon. When the police ordered him to stop, the defendant wrote and published

on www.poetry.com a poem entitled “The Surgeon’s Hands,” in which he stated his desire to 

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ruin the surgeon’s hands. The poem states in part: 

my purpose in life so clear

refusing to let him rest

for when I’m on a mission

I will always do my best

to kill him is not enough

for he is already old

what is worse than being dead

is putting your life on hold

his hands I will take from him 

because of his negligence

and those who ever knew him

understand why I’m so tense

The defendant’s stated mission in life is to deliver to the surgeon a fate worse than death. And

the defendant followed through on his threat, building and then mailing a working explosive

device. Materials to build additional explosive devices were found in the defendant’s home.

This poem, combined with statements made by the defendant to law enforcement

authorities, indicate that the defendant is a man who follows through on his vengeful feelings

without concern over likely consequences. It is the government’s understanding that the

defendant’s own family fears him. In this case, the defendant tracked down all of the materials

necessary to build a working bomb. He then built the bomb, drove it out of state so that it could

not be traced to him, and then mailed it to the surgeon. Had the bomb not been located and

disupted, serious injury or death could have been caused to the surgeon, his family, his staff, and

to postal employees. 

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II. CONCLUSION

When all these factors are viewed together, it is clear that no condition or

combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community. WHEREFORE,

the government respectfully submits that its Motion for Defendant's Pretrial Detention should be

granted.

Respectfully submitted,

PATRICK L. MEEHAN

United States Attorney

JENNIFER ARBITTIER WILLIAMS

Assistant United States Attorney

Date: February 17, 2005

Case 2:05-cr-00201-LS Document 10 Filed 03/04/05 Page 5 of 9
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

BLAKE RYAN STEIDLER

:

:

:

MAGISTRATE NO. O5 -166-M

PRETRIAL DETENTION ORDER

AND NOW, this day of February 2005, after an evidentiary hearing and

argument of counsel for the government and the defendant, the Court finds that the government

has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that no condition or combination of conditions

will reasonably assure the safety of the community. The Court makes the following findings of

fact:

This case is appropriate for detention under Title 18, United States Code, Section

3142(e) because:

1. There is probable cause to believe that the defendant has violated 18

U.S.C. §§ 844(d) and (e).

2. The evidence in this case is strong:

a. On February 12, 2005, the defendant called 911 and reported that

he had placed an explosive device in a mailbox in Ohio. He

described the device as being a 4" x 4" jewelry box that was

comprised of a CO2 cartridge and black gun powder, designed to

ignite once the box was opened. 

b. A parcel matching defendant’s description was recovered by U.S.

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Postal Inspectors in Youngstown, Ohio. A bomb squad confirmed

the nature of the device and disrupted the device before it hurt

anyone.

c. When brought in for questioning, the defendant admitted that he

had mailed the device from Ohio to Illinois as an act of revenge

against a physician who had performed cosmetic surgery on him

approximately 1 1/2 years earlier, which surgery had resulted in

serious complications.

d. The defendant also admitted that he had harassed the physician by

telephone until the police ordered him to stop.

e. Agents searching defendant’s home in Pennsylvania recovered

CO2 materials as well as the wires and electrical components

needed to build the explosive device. Agents also recovered a flyer

depicting the physician and a piece of paper containing the

physician’s address.

3. The total maximum statutory penalty defendant currently faces is ten years

of imprisonment. 18 U.S.C. §§ 844(d), (e). The estimated guidelines sentence for the charged

and other likely offenses is at least approximately seven years. Accordingly, the defendant has a

substantial incentive to flee.

4. The defendant has indicated – both orally and in writing – that he preplanned this violent crime with the goal of destroying the physician’s hands. He has proven

himself to be a man who follows through on his vengeful feelings without concern over likely

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consequences. Had the bomb not been located and disrupted, serious injury or death could have

been caused to the surgeon, his family, his staff, and to postal employees.

5. The strength and nature of the case against the defendant, combined with

his history of vengeful feelings directed towards the intended target of this offense, clearly

establish the defendant's danger to the community.

Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that the defendant be committed to the custody of the

Attorney General for confinement in a correction facility separate, to the extent practicable, from

persons awaiting or serving sentences or being held in custody pending appeal; that the defendant

be afforded reasonable opportunity for private consultation with counsel; and that, on order of a

Court of the United States, or on request of an attorney for the government, the person in charge 

of the corrections facility in which the defendant is confined deliver the defendant to a United

States Marshal for the purpose of an appearance in connection with a court proceeding.

BY THE COURT:

___________________________________

HONORABLE CHARLES B. SMITH

United States Magistrate Judge

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a copy of the Government's Motion for Pretrial Detention and

Proposed Order were served by facsimils on the following defense counsel:

Maranna Meehan, Esquire

Defender Association of Philadelphia

601 Walnut Street

Suite 540 West

Philadelphia, PA 19106

JENNIFER ARBITTIER WILLIAMS

Assistant United States Attorney

Date: February 17, 2005

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