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 Nicholas Helman, 20, of Hatboro, a Philadelphia suburb, had
previously pleaded guilty to attempted murder, risking a catastrophe
and other charges for trying to poison his ex-girlfriend's new
boyfriend with the lethal inhalant.
After he was jailed, he was accused of seeking to have a fellow
inmate "kidnap witnesses, rip their eyes out, burn their homes down
and kill family members," Bucks County Deputy District Attorney
Robert James said.
On Monday, he pleaded guilty to additional felony charges tied to
threatening witnesses, the prosecutor and the head detective working
on his case, James said.
Helman was originally arrested after police, acting on a tip from
one of Helman's co-workers, intercepted the card laced with ricin,
which is made from castor beans. Helman had placed the card in the
mailbox of rival Jake Palm of Warminster in March 2014, prosecutors
said.
Investigators raided Helman's home and found a backpack containing
castor beans and other materials believed to have been used to make
the poison, prosecutors said.
The former Eagle Scout was caught, according to court documents,
after he bragged to a co-worker at a local retail store about
rubbing ground castor beans onto a scratch-and-sniff birthday card.
Helman told police he was only trying to frighten his ex's new beau
as part of a scheme to win her back, according to a police
affidavit.
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"The defendant is a person of above average intelligence," James
said, "it's not everyone who can make ricin successfully, that is
why we believe he is a danger to the community."
Helman was in Bucks County Jail awaiting transfer to prison,
according to Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Alan
Rubenstein.
Helman's lawyer, Joseph Haag, could not be reached for comment.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Daley in Pittsburgh; Editing by Barbara
Goldberg and Sandra Maler)
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