APPLETON -- An inmate at the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton is alleged to have attempted an anthrax hoax against the Internal Revenue Service.
A federal grand jury indicted Jonathan Kenneth Joyner, 21, of the Prairie Correctional Facility, on Thursday for mailing an envelope containing a white powder purporting to be anthrax to an IRS facility in Kansas City, Mo.
He is charged with engaging in conduct with the intent to convey false or misleading information regarding a biological weapon, according to a news release from John F. Wood, United States Attorney Western District of Missouri.
Authorities are aware of Joyner's current status as an inmate and consequently have not taken action to bring him into federal custody, according to Don Ledford, a public affairs director with the U.S. Attorney's office. He will be transferred to Kansas City for an appearance on the charge at a date yet to be determined, he added.
The Kansas City Star newspaper, in a report based on the indictment, said that Joyner is serving the final two years of a prison sentence for illegal possession of a firearm. He could receive a five years sentence if convicted for the alleged anthrax threat.
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Minnesota court records indicate that Jonathan Joyner was convicted in Ramsey County District Court on Dec. 13, 2006, for illegal possession of a firearm. The Department of Corrections listed his initial incarceration as being in maximum security facility at Oak Parks Heights.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, the indictment alleges that on June 22, 2007, Joyner mailed an envelope to the IRS Fraud Detection Center in Kansas City containing the white powder with a letter that stated, in part, "Anthrax Breath Deep Pig Ha Ha Ha Ha.''
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Alexander Menzel Jr. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of the Treasury, Treasure Inspector General for Tax Administration.
