Another man nabbed over ricin letter to Obama

WASHINGTON - Another Mississippi man was arrested over ricin-laced letter sent to US President Barack Obama and two others, the US authorities confirmed Saturday, four days after a previous suspect was released from custody.

According to a statement released by the Department of Justice, Felicia Adams, US Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, and Daniel McMullen, an FBI special agent, announced the arrest of James Everett Dutschke in the case of suspicious letters addressed to Obama, Senator Roger Wicker and a local official in Mississippi.

Dutschke, age 41, of Tupelo, Mississippi, has been arrested and charged for "knowingly developing, producing, stockpiling, transferring, acquiring, retaining and possessing a biological agent, toxin and delivery system, for use as a weapon, to wit: ricin."

If convicted, the charge could carry possible penalties of life imprisonment, a 250,000-dollar fine and 5 years of supervised release.

Dutschke is expected to appear in the US District Court in Oxford, Mississippi next Monday, said the statement.

Four days ago, US attorneys released and dropped charges against Paul Kevin Curtis, a suspect who was arrested on April 17 at his resident in Corinth, Mississippi, for the same case of suspicious letters.

The 45-year-old suspect pleaded not guilty and his lawyers suggested he had possibly been framed for using mail to threaten the president.

The suspicious letters addressed to Obama and Senator Roger Wicker were intercepted on April 16 at off-site mail facilities for the White House and the Capitol Hill respectively and both tested positive for ricin, a highly toxic substance.