New Boston, Texas Woman Indicted for Ricin Letters
Posted/updated on: June 29, 2013 at 5:04 pm
TYLER (Staff/AP) — A 35-year-old New Boston woman has been indicted and charged with federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales. Shannon Guess Richardson was named in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on June 27. The indictment charges Richardson with threatening the President of the United States, mailing a threatening letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and mailing a threatening letter to lobbyist Mark Glaze.
According to the indictment, on or about May 20, 2013, Richardson is alleged to have mailed three threatening letters containing the toxin ricin. The letters were sent to President Barack Obama and Mark Glaze in Washington, D.C., and to Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York City. Richardson was arrested on June 7, 2013, in Mt. Pleasant and has been detained since that time. If convicted, Richardson faces up to five years in federal prison on each charge. Richardson’s court-appointed attorney, Tonda Curry, wasn’t immediately available for comment.
