Northeast Texas Woman Pleads Guilty to Sending Ricin to Obama

TEXARKANA (AP/Staff) – A Bowie County woman has pleaded guilty to sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Shannon Guess Richardson entered her guilty plea Tuesday in Texarkana, Texas. Her attorney, Tonda Curry, has said the plea deal caps any prison sentence at 18 years. A sentencing date has not been set. Curry said Richardson was ready to admit her role in sending toxic letters to Obama, Bloomberg and the head of Bloomberg’s pro-gun control group. Prosecutors say that before her arrest in Mount Pleasant in June, Richardson tried to frame her now-estranged husband for mailing the letters containing ricin, a powdery substance that can cause respiratory failure if inhaled. Richardson has had minor roles in the television series “The Walking Dead” and the movie “The Blind Side.”