Shannon Richardson

Shannon Guess Richardson (née Rogers; born August 31, 1977)[10][1] is an American convicted felon and former actress.[10] She worked in television and film roles, including The Walking Dead, but is best known for sending ricin-laced letters to U.S. President Barack Obama and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, while attempting to frame her husband. She was convicted and sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment in July 2014.[11][12]

Shannon Richardson
Born
Shannon Rogers

(1977-08-31) 31 August 1977[1]
Bowie County, Texas, U.S.
Other namesShannon Rogers Guess[2]
Shannon Rogers Guess Richardson[3]
Shannon Guess Richardson[4][5]
OccupationFormer actress
Years active2009–2013
Known forSending letters laced with ricin
Criminal statusIncarcerated[6]
Spouse
Nathan Richardson
​
​
(m. 2011⁠–⁠2014)​
[7]
Children6
Criminal chargePossession of a toxin for use as a weapon
Penalty18 years' imprisonment
$367,000 in restitution[8]
Details
Span of crimes
May 2013 – June 2013[9]
Imprisoned atFMC Carswell

Career

Richardson appeared in minor roles in television series such as The Vampire Diaries, Franklin & Bash, and The Walking Dead.[13][14]

Personal life

Richardson was abandoned by her mother at the age of two and raised by her father, Terry Rogers. Rogers worked at General Motors in Doraville, Georgia. She was the oldest of three children, having one younger brother and one younger sister. At the time of her arrest, Richardson lived in New Boston, Texas.[15][16] She has been married three times.[2] On October 8, 2011, she married Nathan Richardson, a U.S. Army veteran who works as a mechanic in a military depot.[10] He filed for divorce in June 2013.[8]

At the time of her arrest in June 2013, Richardson had five children, ranging in age from 4 to 19 with her two previous husbands and was pregnant with her sixth child.[17] On July 4, 2013, Richardson gave birth to a boy, named Brody, while in custody. Officials said that the baby was born four months prematurely, weighed only two pounds at birth, and that he needed to remain hospitalized.[18] In August 2013, Nathan Richardson won temporary custody of Brody.[19][20]

Arrest and conviction

In May 2013, while going through a divorce, Richardson called the police and falsely accused her husband, Nathan Richardson, of mailing letters laced with the poison ricin to several politicians.[2][17] Nathan Richardson was never charged in regard to the matter.[2][21][22] He told investigators that his wife set him up. Investigators found evidence that she had mailed the ricin-laced letters herself in an effort to set up her estranged husband.[15][23]

Richardson was arrested on June 7, 2013, for her alleged involvement in ricin-laced letters being sent to politicians such as President Barack Obama and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.[24][25] She was charged with "mailing a threatening letter to President Barack Obama".[5]

On June 6, Richardson confessed that she had mailed the three letters, knowing they contained ricin, but claimed her husband made her mail the letters.[5] On June 20, a federal judge ordered Richardson be given a psychological examination, based on a request from her court-appointed attorney, who said she had shown "a pattern of behavior" that raised questions about her ability to assist in her own criminal defense.[26]

On June 28, Richardson was indicted and charged in the mailing of ricin-laced letters to President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg. The three-count indictment accused her of mailing three threatening letters around May 20 to Obama, Bloomberg, and Mark Glaze, the director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.[12] A criminal complaint filed on June 7 revealed that the FBI had used Mail Isolation Control and Tracking (MICT), a previously undisclosed mass surveillance program run by the U.S. Postal Service, to narrow its investigation to Richardson.[27]

On November 22, Richardson reached a plea agreement on three counts. On December 10, she pleaded guilty and was sent to the Texas State Prison System. The U.S. government contracts with county and state officials nationwide to hold federal prisoners pending trial.[28] On July 16, 2014, most of the charges against Richardson were dropped as per her plea agreement. The charges of making threats against the President of the United States and mailing threatening communications were dropped. Richardson was convicted of the charge pertaining to manufacture and possession of a biological weapon and sentenced to 18 years in prison, $367,222 in restitution, $100 special assessment fee (for psychological testing), 5 years' supervised release and ordered to undergo psychological treatment while in prison and continue psychological treatment after her release.[29]

On March 16, 2015, the Investigation Discovery channel aired episode 10 of season 6 of the television show Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry? which featured Shannon Richardson's case as told by her ex-husband.[30] The episode was titled "Poison Love".[30]

In March 2015, Shannon Richardson filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for deprivation of rights while imprisoned.[31] The civil action was "dismissed with prejudice" on 7 March 2015.[32]

Richardson is being held in a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas with a projected release date of Nov. 18, 2028.[33]

References
  1. "Booking #: 13-00051587 | Gregg County Sheriff's Office | Facility: North Jail". beta.co.gregg.tx.us. Gregg County, Texas. July 8, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  2. Fermino, Jennifer; Parascandola, Rocco; Siemaszko, Corky (May 31, 2013). "Texas man held by FBI in Obama threat, Bloomberg ricin letter cases revealed". New York: NY Daily News. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2013. Army veteran Nathan Richardson, 33, being questioned by the FBI, is married to 'The Walking Dead' and 'Vampire Diaries' actress and Dallas beauty queen Shannon Rogers Guess—who turned him in.
  3. Strauss, Gary (November 14, 2012). "Actress charged in ricin letters sent to Obama, Bloomberg". Usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2013. The arrest of Shannon Rogers Guess Richardson, 35, comes two weeks after Richardson contacted the FBI claiming that her husband, Nathan Richardson, had sent the letters last month to Obama, Bloomberg and Mark Glaze, head of a gun-control organization co-founded by Bloomberg.
  4. Spiropoulos, James (2013). "Shannon Guess Affidavit". Scribd.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. I make this affidavit in support of an application for criminal complaint for SHANNON GUESS RICHARDSON for a suspected violation of 18 U.S.C. § 876 (c)(mailing threatening communications). Alt URL
  5. Goldstein, Joseph (June 7, 2013). "Woman from Texas Is Charged in Ricin Case". The New York Times.
  6. FMC Carswell Federal Correctional Institution, Inmate Register Number: 21213-078
  7. "Person of Interest in Ricin Letters Case". KTBS.com. May 31, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  8. McLaughlin, Eliott C. (July 16, 2014). "Texas actress who sent Obama ricin sentenced to 18 years". cnn.com.
  9. "New Boston, Texas Woman Sentenced For Ricin Letters". www.justice.gov. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Texas. July 16, 2014. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020. Richardson subsequently placed ricin onto threat letters addressed to President Barack Obama, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Mark Glaze. On May 20, 2013, Richardson mailed the three threatening letters from the New Boston, Texas, Post Office. On May 30, 2013, Richardson traveled to the Shreveport, LA, Police Department and reported that her husband was responsible for the ricin-laced letters.
  10. Martinez, Michael; Candiotti, Susan; Cratty, Carol (June 7, 2013). "Texas actress first accuses husband, but she's arrested in ricin case". CNN. Retrieved June 7, 2013. Shannon Richardson, 35, also known as Shannon Rogers and Shannon Guess...
  11. "BBC News - Texas actress held over ricin letter 'gun threat'". Bbc.co.uk. June 8, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  12. "'Vampire Diaries' Actress Shannon Rogers Guess Richardson Indicted On 3 Counts For Sending Ricin Letters". International Business Times. June 28, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  13. Walker, Hunter (May 31, 2013). "Feds Focus On Texas Man In Latest Ricin Letters Case | TPMDC". Tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  14. "TV Actress Arrested for Sending Ricin Letters - Philip Bump". The Atlantic Wire. May 30, 2013. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  15. Deutsch, Kevin (June 7, 2013). "Feds: Actress arrested in ricin case". Newsday.
  16. "Man at center of ricin investigation attended James Bowie High in Simms". Texarkanagazette.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  17. Fernandez, Manny (May 31, 2013). "Inquiry Into Obama and Bloomberg Ricin Letters Leads to Search of a Texas House". The New York Times.
  18. Merchant, Nomaan (July 23, 2013). "Texas actress has plea deal over ricin letters sent to Obama, Bloomberg". ap.org. Archived from the original on July 26, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  19. "Texas father gets custody of ricin-suspect's baby". wfaa.com. August 27, 2013. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  20. LaRowe, Lynn (August 27, 2013). "Husband gets custody of infant in ricin case". texarkanagazette.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  21. Memmott, Mark. "Reports: Husband Cleared, Wife Arrested In Latest Ricin Case : The Two-Way". NPR. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  22. Hosenball, Mark (May 31, 2013). "Texas man investigated over ricin letters to Obama - Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  23. "Texas woman arrested in ricin letters to Obama, Bloomberg: Officials - U.S. News". Usnews.nbcnews.com. October 24, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  24. "Actress arrested for ricin-laced letters sent to President". USA Today. June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  25. Mattingly, Phil (May 6, 2013). "Woman Said to Be Arrested for Obama, Bloomberg Ricin Letters". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  26. "Chron.com". Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  27. Nixon, Ron (July 3, 2013). "U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement". The New York Times.
  28. Gomez, Jackie (March 31, 2006). "United States Department of Justice | United States Marshals Service | Intergovernmental Service Agreement | Housing of Federal Prisoners | Gregg County Jail" (PDF). U.S. Marshall Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 25, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2020. [H]ousing, safekeeping, and subsistence of federal prisoners[...] FIXED PER DIEM RATE $43 (equivalent to $64.43 in 2022)
  29. "CM/ECF LIVE - U.S. District Court:txed". ecf.txed.uscourts.gov. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  30. "Poison Love | Who the (BLEEP) Did I Marry?". www.investigationdiscovery.com. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  31. "Woman sentenced for sending ricin-laced letters to president sues East Texas jail officials". Gregg County, Texas. April 17, 2015. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2020. [L]awsuit was filed by Shannon Richardson[...] says in the documents that she did not receive adequate medical attention during her stay at Gregg County Jail, according to the lawsuit documents. Richardson, who was pregnant while she was detained, says the lack of medical attention and other stresses that arose as a result of her solitary confinement caused the premature birth of her son.
  32. Schneider, Michael H. (March 7, 2016). "MEMORANDUM ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS for Richardson v. Leach et al". Justia Dockets & Filings. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  33. LaRowe, Lynn (May 10, 2018). "Judge won't shorten sentence in ricin case | Texarkana Breaking News". Texarkana News. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2020. In a 32-page opinion issued Wednesday in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven addressed each of Richardson's complaints and found them all without merit. Craven pointed out that Richardson's lawyer, Tonda Curry of Tyler, Texas, successfully negotiated a plea that did not contain language related to terrorism, which would have left Richardson facing a life term under federal sentencing guidelines.
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