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Suspicious powder at courthouse sent by inmate

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By TOM BRENNAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 29, 2009

TAMPA - The suspicious white powder that caused the evacuation of parts of the Hillsborough County criminal courthouse Monday fell from a threatening letter mailed to a judge by a prison inmate.

Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter wouldn't identify the judge or the sender. She said the investigation is continuing.

Dave Couvertier, a spokesman for the Tampa office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said his agency is working with the sheriff's office.

The powder fell into the lap of a clerk in the clerk of court's felony division on the second floor of the annex building at Jefferson Street and Kennedy Boulevard. The first and second floors at the south end of the annex were evacuated while a hazardous materials team from Tampa Fire Rescue investigated.

The area was reopened after about an hour when it was determined the powder wasn't a biological threat such as anthrax.

Carter said investigators don't know what the powder is but tests showed it contained "no harmful agents."

Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 259-7698.

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