We have a name.
Police said the man is 57 years old and was staying in the suite at the Extended Stay America on Valley View Boulevard near Flamingo Road where the ricin was found.
Police have not identified the man, but a Homeland Security internal document obtained by the Review-Journal states that he is Roger Von Bergendorff.
The man placed an emergency call from the suite on Feb. 14, saying he was in respiratory distress and asking to be transported to a hospital, police said.
"He's unable to speak with us right now," said Deputy Chief Kathy Suey, who leads the Police Department's Homeland Security Division.
His medical condition, however, was consistent with exposure to the poisonous substance, authorities said.
If a person exposed to ricin doesn't die within three to five days, the victim usually recovers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Seven other people, including three police officers and three employees at the long-term stay hotel, also were hospitalized as a precaution. No one other than Von Bergendorff had exhibited signs of ricin exposure.
We also have the name of the relative who turned in the ricin.
On Thursday, a man who "claimed to be a relative" was in the suite and discovered several vials of ricin in a bag, along with castor beans from which the substance is derived, Suey said.
Police have not identified the man, whom they said was 53 years old. But the Homeland Security document identified him as Thomas Tholen.
Authorities said Tholen took the vials of ricin to the manager's office. It was not clear whether Tholen knew what the vials contained.
(...)Police believe that all of the ricin related to the incident has been contained.
Here's the punchline.
Las Vegas police spokesman Bill Cassell said Von Bergendorff "is not considered a criminal suspect."
Lombardo said: "I don't want to make any conclusions with the anarchist-type textbook. It doesn't make you a terrorist because you have this type textbook. It doesn't make you a terrorist if you possess firearms."
It's funny how he didn't mention the ricin. Unless the ricin was left there by a previous resident in the hotel room, it looks like the suspect was going to do harm to someone. I'm sure Mr Cassel would love to stay in the room next door. Personally, I'm going to "jump to the conclusion" that ricin in a hotel room with anarchist material and firearms are a threat to public safety.
