OXFORD, Mississippi (CNN) — The Mississippi man accused of making a potent toxin found in letters mailed to President Barack Obama and other officials will be held without bond pending a preliminary hearing later this week, a federal magistrate ruled Monday.
Federal authorities arrested James Everett Dutschke, 41, Saturday on charges of possessing and using ricin after initially charging — and then clearing — another man with whom Dutschke has sometimes feuded.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands and feet shackled as he entered the room, Dutschke told Magistrate S. Allan Alexander that he understood what he had been charged with.
His attorney, George Lucas, told Alexander that they had not yet had time to go through the complaint.
Alexander agreed to order Dutschke held without bond on the grounds that he could be a danger to the community or could try to run. She set his preliminary hearing for Thursday.
Both Lucas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Lamar declined to comment after the hearing.
While the snappy eight-minute hearing produced no new details, the public could learn more about the accusations when the criminal affidavit in support of the complaint is unsealed. That could happen as early as Monday, according to the court clerk and a U.S. attorney.
Dutschke’s arrest was the latest head-scratching twist in what could be a tale of small-town intrigue that blew up to become international news.
The letters — sent to Obama, Wicker and Holland — arrived April 16 and touched off anxieties in Washington and elsewhere in the wake of the bombing of the Boston Marathon. The two incidents were unconnected, officials said.
Before police settled on Dutschke as a suspect, they took into custody a Corinth, Mississippi, man named Paul Kevin Curtis, who makes his living impersonating Elvis, Buddy Holly and Randy Travis.
Curtis vehemently denied sending the letters, said he was framed and identified Dutschke as a potential culprit.
The ties that bind
Dutschke used to work for Curtis’ brother at an insurance company, under the direction of Curtis’ ex-wife.
Curtis has said that while Dutschke worked for his brother, the two talked about collaborating on the publication of a book but later had a falling out.
He has accused Dutschke of stalking him online, a claim the latter has denied.
In an April 22 court hearing before the charges were dropped, Curtis said he was being framed and identified Dutschke as a potential culprit.
Dutschke told reporters last week that he did not know Curtis well.
“He’s just a little nutty,” he said. “I don’t have a relationship with him.”
The ties that bind II
So where do the lawmakers fit in?
Dutschke can be linked to Sadie Holland through her son, Democratic state representative Steve Holland.
Dutschke failed in a bid as a Republican to unseat the younger Holland.
As for Curtis, Sadie Holland presided over a 2004 assault hearing involving Curtis, who says he has been in jail “over 20 times,” but never convicted.
And Sen. Roger Wicker?
Dutschke said he once met Wicker.
Suspect No. 1
The letters read, in part: “To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance.”
They were signed “I am KC and I approve this message,” a source told CNN.
Each letter had a Memphis, Tennessee, postmark and no return address.
The very next day, authorities arrested Curtis.
His attorney, Christi McCoy, said he’d been framed by someone who used several phrases Curtis likes to use on social media.
The FBI said the letters tested positive for ricin, a toxin derived from castor beans that has no known antidote.
The very next week, authorities dropped the charges against Curtis after they said they had new information.
“I think now, how many people are thrown in jail because of circumstantial evidence and someone can frame you that easily,” he told CNN last week after being cleared.
Suspect No. 2
The feds then turned their attention to Dutschke.
Agents searched his residence and former martial arts studio. Dutschke told CNN affiliate WMC-TV that he agreed to the FBI search “to help clear my name.”
“I had absolutely nothing to do with those letters,” he said.
Early Saturday, he was arrested without incident at home. He was charged with possession and use of a biological agent as a weapon in connection with the letters.
More trouble
This isn’t his only brush with the law.
Dutschke faces molestation charges in an unrelated case.
According to a grand jury indictment handed up this month and obtained by CNN, Dutschke is accused of molesting three girls under the age of 16. He has repeatedly denied the charges in interviews with local media and pleaded not guilty in court this month.
Dutschke closed his tae kwon do studio after the allegations were made public.
Dutschke was previously convicted on indecent exposure charges in another case and sentenced to 90 days in jail.
A song in his heart
As for Curtis, he told CNN he’s “just glad it’s over.”
When he learned Dutschke had been arrested, he took a deep breath and felt like “a weight had been taken off.”
“I just want to return to my kids and my music,” Curtis said.
During another interview with CNN last week, he said the public attention could “thrust him into the limelight.”
And then, at the urging of reporter Chris Cuomo, he burst into song.
A rousing rendition of Randy Travis’ “On the Other Hand.”
CNN’s Vivian Kuo reported from Oxford, Mississippi; Rich Phillips and Alina Machado from Booneville, Mississippi. Ed Payne wrote from Atlanta. CNN’s Chelsea J. Carter and Dana Ford contributed to this report.
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