Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Federal Prison for Sending Letters Containing Simulated Anthrax

Portland, OR—David A. Groves, 39, was sentenced to 15 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown after he pled guilty to sending more than 25 bizarre and threatening letters to federal, state, and local governmental agencies which contained a white, powdery substance. Groves was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and must pay $12,446 in restitution.

The investigation was conducted by FBI and TIGTA (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration) and showed that beginning in 2005, Groves sent letters containing a powdered material which he intended to simulate anthrax. In addition to the implicit threat of anthrax infection, many of the letters contained direct death threats. Groves employed intentional misspellings, fictitious identities, and non-existent return addresses to reduce the chances that the letters would be traced to him. His conduct resulted in unnecessary responses from law enforcement and hazmat teams, building evacuations, and the quarantine of exposed personnel pending analysis of the suspected anthrax.

A break in the case came when the FBI lab linked a few of the letters to Groves by fingerprint analysis in the spring of 2008, resulting in his arrest and the execution of search warrants. Thereafter, the FBI and state crime labs linked Groves to several additional letters by DNA analysis. While he did not raise an insanity defense, Groves produced evidence at his sentencing hearing that he suffered from severe bipolar disorder with occasional episodes of psychotic behavior.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Atkinson.