Fannin County Woman Arrested in Connection with Fake Anthrax-Tainted Letter Sent to Financial Company

An Arrest has been made in connection with a letter containing household flour meant to appear as anthrax-tainted powder sent to a financial company earlier this week.

Nancy Ann Davenport, of Fannin County was arrested in connection with the letter. She was booked into the county jail and later released on a $2,500.00 bond.

Davenport is charged with making a terroristic threat. The Georgia Code defines a terroristic threats as:

(a) A person commits the offense of a terroristic threat when he or she threatens to commit any crime of violence, to release any hazardous substance, as such term is defined in Code Section 12-8-92, or to burn or damage property with the purpose of terrorizing another or of causing the evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation or otherwise causing serious public inconvenience or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience. No person shall be convicted under this subsection on the uncorroborated testimony of the party to whom the threat is communicated.

The state penalty for this charge is $1000.00 in addition to or instead of up to 5 years in state prison.

It should be noted that criminal acts involving the U.S. Postal Service are also punishable according to federal law.

Sources (who asked to remain anonymous) told FYN that Davenport had sent the powder through the U.S. Postal Service in an apparent retaliation for not being approved for a small loan from the company. This information cannot be verified at this time.

A regional hazmat team responded last Monday afternoon (July 21) when employees at One Main Financial in Blue Ridge called 911 after a staff member saw white powder come from an envelope and onto a desk top.

Anthrax is a highly toxic bacteria that reproduces rapidly in the body of all mammals and people.