Ricin Suspect Busted for Jailhouse Ricin Plot

A man charged with sending poison-laced letters to President Obama and other officials has been charged with trying for a second time to frame the man first arrested in the case—an Elvis impersonator. James Everett Dutschke has been jailed since April on charges of sending ricin-tainted letters to Obama, US Sen. Roger Wicker, and a Mississippi judge, Sadie Holland.The new indictment says Dutschke, while incarcerated, tried to recruit someone to make more ricin and send it to Wicker, and once again tried to frame Elvis impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis.

Dutschke, who has feuded with Curtis for years, is a former martial arts instructor in the north Mississippi town of Tupelo, Elvis' birthplace. He has pleaded not guilty to the original five counts and denies sending the letters. The new indictment adds another count. He faces up to life in prison, if convicted of the most serious charge, the production of a biological weapon. He's being held without bond and his trial is scheduled for May next year. "I'm glad he's in jail because that's where he needs to be. He's a threat to a lot of people," says Curtis' lawyer. (More J. Everett Dutschke stories.)