WASHINGTON (WJLA) – Daniel Milzman, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student, pleaded guilty in D.C. court Monday in accordance with a plea agreement to charges of illegally possessing a lethal amount of ricin in his dorm room.
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The charges could earn Milzman anywhere from one to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He is also subject to financial penalties.
"Daniel Milzman put himself and others in danger by cooking up a deadly poison in his Georgetown dorm room," said U.S. Attorney Ronald D. Machen Jr. "Today, Mr. Milzman owned up to his reckless behavior and acknowledged his crime before a federal judge. He is very lucky that none of his fellow students were hurt when he decided to manufacture this lethal substance."
According to authorities, on the night of March 17, 2014, Milzman contacted a friend, who was a student Resident Advisor, and asked whether they could meet. The two met in the RA's dormitory room, where Milzman asked if they could have a "confidential" conversation. The RA agreed.
During their conversation, officials said Milzman produced a double-wrapped plastic bag containing an off-white, powdery substance from his backpack and tossed it on the floor. He reportedly told the RA that the bag contained ricin, and said that he had made the substance over a period of four days, while on a school break.
Authorities said the RA directly asked Milzman if he intended to use the ricin on another undergraduate student with whom the defendant had a previous personal relationship. Milzman "simply shrugged," they said. After Milzman left his friend's dormitory room, law enforcement officials were notified of the possible presence of ricin in Milzman's room.
At around 2:30 a.m., members of the D.C. Fire and EMS Department and law enforcement officers went to Milzman's room.
Milzman was taken to a lobby on the first floor of the dormitory, where he voluntarily spoke with law enforcement officers. He admitted that he had made ricin and said that he had placed it in a plastic bag inside his desk. . A small plastic bag containing a powdery substance was located in Milzman's desk drawer, exactly where Milzman had said it would be, authorities said.
When speaking with law enforcement, Milzman claimed that he intended to use the ricin on himself.
During the investigation, law enforcement confirmed that between Feb. 13 and Feb. 19, 2014, Milzman used key words when searching the Internet that are associated with ricin.
Law enforcement also confirmed that from Jan. 1 through March 18, Milzman watched various episodes of the television show, "Breaking Bad," which features around 13 episodes in which ricin was used as a weapon to injure or kill someone.
According to tests, authorities said the toxicity of the ricin Milzman produced "could have been lethal to an average person weighing up to 220 pounds, if either inhaled or injected."
Milzman has been in custody since his arrest last March. Sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 10.
Source : http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/09/georgetown-student-pleads-guilty-to-possession-of-ricin-in-his-dorm-room-107147.html
