AP
By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News
Charges were dropped Tuesday against the Mississippi man suspected of mailing?ricin-laced letters to President Obama and other public officials ? as authorities searched the home of another man hoping to find clues in the expanding investigation.
Hours after Paul Kevin Curtis' release, authorities searched the home of another Mississippi man, J. Everett Dutschke, as part of the investigation, reported WTVA. ?Dutschke's name had come up earlier this week when Curtis' defense attorney suggested prosecutors look into him, WTVA reported.
Curtis was arrested last Wednesday at his home in Corinth, Miss. Two letters that initially tested positive for ricin, a poison, had been found earlier in the week -- one addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and one to President Barack Obama.?
According to an FBI bulletin, both letters were postmarked April 8, 2013, out of Memphis, Tenn., and included an identical phrase:?"to see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance."
Both were signed?"I am KC and I approve this message."
Another suspicious letter was sent to a Lee County, Miss., judge.?
Curtis, 45, was released on bond from Mississippi's Lafayette County Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon, defense attorney Christi McCoy confirmed to WTVA.
It was not immediately clear if there were conditions for his release.
On Monday, an FBI agent testified that a search of Curtis' vehicle and home did not yield any ricin or castor beans, the ingredients needed to make the poison.?
"There was no apparent ricin, castor beans or any material there that could be used for the manufacturing, like a blender or something,"?Agent Brandon Grant said in an Oxford, Miss., courtroom, reported The Associated Press. ?He said there was a possibility Curtis could have thrown away the processor, and that computer technicians were taking a deeper look at Curtis' computer after an initial search didn't find documents or searches connected to ricin.
McCoy argued on Monday that the government does not have probably cause to hold Curtis, an Elvis impersonator who relatives say has bipolar disorder.
"The searches are concluded, not one single shred of evidence was found to indicate Kevin could have done this," McCoy told reporters after the hearing Monday.?
A news conference was scheduled for 5 p.m. CT Tuesday, according to The AP.
Also on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid set off a new round of concerns after telling reporters ricin had been found?at?a mail facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. However, the?Defense Intelligence Agency later clarified in a statement that screening equipment alerted authorities to potential hazardous substance, but an investigation found no suspicious packages or letters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published on Tue Apr 23, 2013 6:04 PM EDT
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