Utah Home Searched in Ricin Case

Suburban neighbors evacuated

By Laurel Jorgensen, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 3, 2008 7:03 AM CST

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Utah Home Searched in Ricin Case — FBI Special Agent in Charge Tim Fuhrman answers questions during a news conference Sunday, March 2, 2008, in Riverton, Utah. FBI agents searched a Utah house and two storage units linked to a man whose hospitalization led to the discovery of deadly ricin in a motel room he had occupied on the Las Vegas... (Associated Press)

FBI agents yesterday searched the former Utah home of a man clinging to life after apparent ricin poisoning in his Las Vegas hotel room. Neighbors within a two-block area were evacuated but were later allowed to return to their homes. Local residents described the man as a mild-mannered, down-on-his-luck loner who could be inexplicably vindictive at times. "I never felt comfortable around him," said one neighbor.

The hotel guest was hospitalized in Las Vegas two weeks ago after suffering from respiratory problems. Several vials containing the deadly poison as well as firearms and an "anarchist-type textbook” were found in his hotel room, according to investigators. He remains unconscious and police have been unable to question him about the source of the poison. (More ricin stories.)

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