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Charges dropped in anthrax case
Larry Wayne Harris LAS VEGAS (CNN) -- Federal charges against two men arrested last week for possessing biological agents for use as a weapon were dropped Monday because the materials were found to be non-lethal.
But Larry Wayne Harris remained in jail because of a probation violation related to last week's arrest.
Harris, 46, is a microbiologist and a self-avowed white separatist who has written and spoken widely on the dangers of germ warfare. He and Nevada businessman William Leavitt Jr., 47, were arrested last Wednesday night on charges of possessing anthrax and conspiring to use it as a weapon.
FBI tests on the vials taken from the two men later showed the materials were only strong enough to be used in vaccinations.
Harris -- wearing a blue jail uniform and with his feet shackled -- appeared before U.S. Magistrate Roger Hunt in a Las Vegas courtroom Monday.
Hunt said the charges against Harris and Leavitt were dismissed, but added that Harris still faced the probation violation charge and would remain in custody.
Attorney Kirby Wells -- who represents Leavitt -- said the U.S. Attorney's Office in Las Vegas agreed to withdraw the two counts against Leavitt because the vials taken from a car Leavitt was using turned out to be a non-lethal anthrax vaccine.
"It is over, it is done. I want to get on with my life," Leavitt said at a news conference, adding he didn't plan any legal action against the government over the incident.
Harris was on probation for a 1995 fraud conviction in obtaining bubonic plague bacteria by mail.
Testing on biological material seized from Harris' home in Lancaster, Ohio, was completed Monday and determined Harris had non-lethal anthrax samples, FBI agent Ed Boldt said.
Linda Phipps, with the U.S. Attorney's office in Columbus, Ohio, said Harris could face five years in prison for violating his probation by:
- Experimenting with or possessing bacteria.
- Falsely claiming to have worked for the CIA.
- Making threatening statements in Nevada regarding anthrax, a deadly bacteria when inhaled.
Leavitt was released on Saturday Terms of Harris' probation barred him from "conducting any experiments with or obtaining any infectious diseases, bacteria or germs, except at approved laboratories in conjunction with verified employment," according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office in Columbus.
An informant, Ronald Rockwell, has said he turned in Leavitt and Harris last week after Leavitt claimed to possess the deadly anthrax bacteria. Leavitt's attorneys say Rockwell is a con artist who double-crossed the two men when a deal to buy an unorthodox disease-killing machine from Rockwell for $2 million went sour.
CNN/Time Impact special assignment:
Related stories:
- FBI searches home of freed anthrax suspect - February 22, 1998
- One suspect in anthrax case released from custody - February 21, 1998
- FBI: Suspects in anthrax case to remain in custody - February 21, 1998
- Sources: Substance seized near Las Vegas non-lethal anthrax - February 21, 1998
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) Frequently Asked Questions
- Outbreak - an on-line information service addressing emerging diseases
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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