SPOKANE, WA -- An inmate in Florida is accused of sending a threatening note containing an unknown substance to a federal judge here in Spokane, Washington, which prompted an evacuation of its downtown Post Office.
The letter was sent by Florida prison inmate Michael Beaver, according to officials. Beaver is currently serving in the Union Correctional Institute in Florida on four charges of threats to bomb and eight charges of written threats to kill or injure out of Hillsborough County.
He was sentenced in 2005 on that battery of charges and isn't expected to be released from prison until 2022. Additionally he has five pending federal charges that have not gone to trial yet for sending threatening messages to federal judges in Florida.
Thursday morning an envelope was opened in the Post Office by a federal court clerk employee. Inside the envelope the court employee found an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper with sporadic writing and blood stains on it. The envelope also contained a folded up piece of toilet paper with an unknown substance inside.
Chief Deputy Eric Marks with the U.S. Marshal's Office in Eastern Washington said that he briefly saw the letter and the sporadic writing contained words and phrases including "contaminated" and "take a deep breath".
The post office was promptly evacuated and units from the Spokane Police and Fire Departments evacuated and cordoned off the site while the clerk who opened the letter and two U.S. Marshals who responded to the incident were held in quarantine as a precaution. Police also shut down westbound Riverside between Lincoln and Monroe while a HazMat team worked to determine what the unidentified substance is.
Spokane Police Public Information Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said at 11:30 a.m. that preliminary tests indicate the unknown substance was calcium carbonate, which is used medicinally as a chief ingredient in calcium supplements and antacids.
After Thursday's incident he will most likely be facing additional federal charges in Spokane.
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Courtesy KXLY