EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — Newly released police records, body-camera video and a 911 call show how a Sept. 19 report of gunshots at an apartment building on Nelacrest Road spiraled into a standoff — and eventually led investigators to ricin, a deadly biological toxin now at the center of a federal criminal case.
According to East Cleveland police, officers responding to a 911 report of about a dozen gunshots found no shooting victims but confronted Brandon L. Baxter, 34, who emerged from his apartment carrying a large knife and warned people in the building that gas was flowing, telling them to leave if they did not want to die. Cuyahoga County sheriff’s deputies broke a window and used pepper balls to force Baxter from the apartment; he was taken into custody and transported for a medical evaluation.
The investigation changed course at the hospital, where Baxter told an officer he had been making ricin in his refrigerator. Authorities later collected material that tested positive for ricin, East Cleveland police Commander Todd Carroscia told News 5 Cleveland. Carroscia said Baxter also reportedly claimed he had been consuming the substance, though investigators could not verify that. Federal prosecutors have not publicly alleged a specific intended target for the ricin.
On Oct. 2, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio announced a federal grand jury had indicted Baxter on charges of prohibitions with respect to biological weapons and possession of a biological toxin by a restricted person. The case draws added attention because of Baxter’s history: in 2012 he and others were charged in a plot to detonate what they believed were explosives at the Route 82 bridge near Cleveland; he pleaded guilty, served federal prison time and was released in 2020, and was on federal supervised release when arrested. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Baxter remains jailed and is expected to be arraigned Oct. 14 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan D. Greenberg; the FBI’s Cleveland Division is leading the investigation with East Cleveland police and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office.
