SPRINGFIELD — A federal judge on Wednesday denied a motion to reconsider pretrial detention for a Hadley man who allegedly sold plutonium and possessed numerous other explosive and hazardous materials in his home before being indicted two months ago.

Jacob D. Miller, 43, of 108 Hockanum Road, was indicted in U.S. District Court in April on one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition and one count of being a felon in possession of explosive materials, following his arrest on April 9 on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of ammunition.

Authorities also allege the Miller sold plutonium in 2023, and used hazardous black powder to ignite a fireball and detonate a dishwasher in his backyard during gatherings.

Miller appeared in the U.S. District Court in Springfield on Wednesday accompanied by a member of the U.S. Marshals Service. Miller’s attorney, Charles Dolan, argued that while in prison, Miller had been unable to access prescribed medication, and that such deprivation had lead to a worsening of Miller’s mental state, making it more difficult to communicate with his attorney.

“I have noticed a deterioration of his decision-making process,” Dolan stated in the courtroom. “There has been a cognitive decline since his incarceration.”

Miller was initially released on conditions after his initial arrest, but violated one of the court’s directives and has been incarcerated since. In the motion filed by Dolan dated June 13, Miller is described has having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and was currently prescribed the drug Adderall. It also stated that Miller has been on medication since he was 6 years old, and that alternative forms of medication had been unsuccessful.

Steven Breslow, the attorney representing the U.S. government in the case, countered that Miller’s father had testified before a grand jury that his son would be unable to abide by pretrial conditions if he returned to his home, and that Miller also knowingly possessed an illegal firearm and was aware he could go to prison for its possession.

“Nobody would know Mr. Miller better than his own father,” Breslow said. “There’s no condition that would allow Mr. Miller to return home and not be a danger.”

Breslow also noted that writings by Miller had been recovered by federal agents depicting “musings and fantasies” of a violent nature. In an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Darrell Hunter, Miller’s writings are described in detail, including a poem titled “Bits and Pieces” and descriptions of himself as “The Bomber.”

Dolan’s arguments for release were not enough to convince U.S. District Judge Katherine Robertson. She acknowledged that Dolan’s motion was by no means a “frivolous request,” but there were other factors that determined Miller’s degree of dangerousness that outweighed his lack of medication, noting Miller’s prior criminal history.

“In the history here is unfortunately a risk of non-compliance,” Robertson said. “The danger here is real.”

The case began on April 8 when agents with the FBI, acting on a search warrant, found a box of about 50 rounds of Federal brand, American Eagle .45 auto, 230 grain ammunition in a bedside table in Miller’s home, and six firearms in a hallway safe. Explosive materials, hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials, including plutonium, were also located in the home.

Twenty-three years earlier, in 2002, authorities searched Miller’s residence and found blasting caps, bomb-making instructions, military equipment including an apparent rocket launcher, a homemade pipe bomb and a video depicting Miller igniting several improvised explosive devices, including one that he referred to as a “hand grenade.” Miller was later convicted in state court of possessing those devices.

In 2004, Miller was convicted in Hampshire Superior Court in Northampton of one count of possession of child pornography and sentenced to seven years of probation. Miller also was convicted in a separate case in Hampshire Superior Court of two counts of possession of an explosive device and sentenced to 2½ years in jail and 10 years of probation. In 2014, the Massachusetts Radiation Control Program issued a cease-and-desist letter to Miller after discovering he was selling depleted uranium on eBay.

Robertson said on Wednesday’s that Miller’s probationary period was one of the longest she’d ever seen at the state court level.

Miller is currently being held at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.