Kissimmee man pleads guilty to making ricin to kill former partner
A Kissimmee man pleaded guilty last week to making ricin, a biological toxin, in an attempt to kill his former business partner, according to United States Attorney Roger Handberg.
Kevin Deane Jones, 50, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for the unlawful possession of ricin and a maximum of 10 years each on two counts for possession of firearms by a convicted felon.
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According to the plea agreement, in Dec. 2021 law enforcement learned that Jones had manufactured ricin intending to use it to kill his former partner and was planning to travel out of state to where his former partner lived.
On Dec. 17, police stopped Jones, who admitted to manufacturing ricin.
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According to a news release, officers found a plastic water gun in Jones’s truck, as well as five tubes filled with liquids that later tested positive for ricin.
Law enforcement found additional tubes containing ricin, along with castor beans, documents pertaining to ricin, and approximately 200 rounds of various types of ammunition in Jones’s residence.
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Officers later searched a storage unit, rented by Jones, and found a rifle, handgun, silencer and approximately 3,000 rounds of various types of ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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