Oshkosh ricin case headed to federal grand jury

GREEN BAY – A grand jury will hear the case against a 21-year-old University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh student accused of possessing ricin.

Kyle Allen Smith was arrested Oct. 31 after Oshkosh Police closed off a four-block area around the student's home at 803 Frederick St. while they executed a search warrant after receiving a tip from the university that Smith was attempting to make ricin, a deadly toxin.

He is charged with possession of ricin in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Green Bay. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

During a preliminary hearing Monday, Magistrate Judge James Sickel found probable cause existed that Smith knowingly possessed ricin. The case will now be forwarded to a grand jury, which will decide whether an indictment will be returned and Smith will be prosecuted.

Ricin is a toxic poison that blocks the ability of cells to synthesize protein, causing organs to shut down and eventually causing death. It is found naturally in castor bean plants, which authorities said was the source of Smith's powder.

FBI special agent David Ratajczak testified in court Monday that the FBI submitted 1.624 grams of white powder in a vial for testing at the Homeland Security lab at Fort Detrick in Maryland. The substance tested positive for ricin and it was determined it contained 0.5 percent ricin.

A report prepared by Dr. Krista Mason, a biologist at the FBI lab in Quantico, Va., indicated the substance found in Smith's residence was enough to kill about 20 people if injected intravenously, Ratajczaktestified.

Police were alerted to Smith's activities after he approached two UWO professors and asked questions. He did not go into detail about what he was doing, but told a professor it was "borderline illegal."

According to court documents, Smith admitted to an Oshkosh Police detective that he had begun the process of making ricin, and had poured the substance into a glass container before putting the container in a drawer in his dining room.

Smith told the detective he was not approved to conduct research for UWO or any other institution and that he did not have the necessary chemicals and lab equipment needed to further refine the substance,Ratajczak said.

During questioning by police, Smith said he would not test the substance on any human beings because "too many people in Oshkosh knew what he was doing and would turn him in," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Kanter, who handles national security cases.

Defense attorney Williams Kerner argued that Smith did not possess ricin, rather he had castor bean meal in his possession.

"The evidence before you was that Mr. Smith was in possession of 1.624 grams of organic fertilizer,"Kerner said.

Sickel denied a request by Kerner to modify bond to allow for Smith to stay with his parents in Sun Prairie. Smith remains in federal custody.

No future court date has been set.

Jennifer K. Woldt: (920) 426-6676 or jwoldt @ thenorthwestern.com; on Twitter, @ONW_Woldt.