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Date: 04-07-2021
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:18-cr-04107-RK
Judge:
Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (Cole County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States District Attorney's Office
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Jefferson City, Missouri fraudulent possession of chemical weapons criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant, Jason William Siesser, age 46, who was charged with purchasing chemical weapons on the dark web and paying for them with Bitcoin as part of a plot to poison a woman who had elected to end her relationship with him.
Defendant was charged with one count of attempting to acquire a chemical weapon and one count of aggravated identity theft on Aug. 4, 2020. According to court documents, Siesser admitted that he attempted to acquire a chemical weapon on two occasions between June 14 and Aug. 23, 2018. He provided a shipping address in the name of a juvenile, whose identity he used without authorization, to place the orders for a highly toxic chemical in amounts capable of killing many people. Siesser paid for the chemical weapon with the digital cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin.
Siesser ordered two 10 mL units of the chemical on July 4, 2018, and paid with Bitcoin. The seller did not ship the chemical weapon at that time. Siesser continued to contact the seller. On July 19, 2018, Siesser told the seller that, “I plan to use it soon after I receive it.”
Siesser ordered three 10 mL units of the chemical weapon on Aug. 5, 2018. Siesser again paid for the order with Bitcoin, the equivalent of $150, and provided a shipping address in the name of a juvenile. This quantity of the chemical weapon has the capacity to kill approximately 300 people.
A controlled delivery of a package that contained an inert substance was made to Siesser’s residence on Aug. 23, 2018. Siesser believed the package contained the chemical weapon he had ordered, signed for the package and took it inside the residence.
Law enforcement officers then executed a search warrant at Siesser’s residence. On top of a shelf in the garage, officers located the inert substance Siesser believed to be a chemical weapon. Officers also located two separate and seemingly unopened shipping boxes on the shelf next to it. They contained approximately 10 grams of cadmium arsenide, a toxic compound, which can be deadly if ingested or inhaled; approximately 100 grams of cadmium metal; and approximately 500 mL of hydrochloric acid. An invoice for these products showed they had been ordered together on March 30, 2018.
Writings located within the home articulated Siesser’s heartache, anger and resentment over a breakup, and a desire for the person who caused the heartache to die.
Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Casey prosecuted the case. The FBI with assistance from the Columbia Police Department investigated the case.
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
(1)
FRAUD WITH IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS
(2)
FICTITIOUS NAME OR ADDRESS
(3)
FRAUD WITH IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS
(4)
Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons for a term of 84 months on Count 1 of the Indictment and 60 months on Count 4 to be served consecutively to Count 1 for a total term of imprisonment of 144 months custody. Supervised release of 5 years. This consists of 5 years on each of Counts 1 and 4, the terms to run concurrently w/mandatory, standard, and special conditions imposed. Fine waived. MSA of $200.00 imposed. Restitution: $0.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: