Associated Press
FOREST CORNERS, Fla. (AP) - Police have found about five pounds of the toxic element mercury, which a man had told authorities he planned to use to contaminate the water supply in Salem, Mass.
Scott Duke Fuller, 32, told Salem police Thursday that he had placed the element in a self storage facility in Forest Corners in Ocala National Forest last May.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies found a bottle they suspected contained mercury later in the day, said spokesman Lenny Uptagraft.
Uptagraft said the bottle will likely be sent Friday to a laboratory for testing. It remained unclear how long it has been since Fuller last had access to the mercury.
Salem police arrested Fuller on Wednesday because he was carrying a gun while a restraining order had been placed against him, a violation of Massachusetts law, said Detective Mike Andreas. He later told officers about the mercury, Andreas said.
Andreas said more charges may be added if the substance found in the storage unit turns out to be mercury.
Fuller had no prior arrest record in Massachusetts, Andreas said. It could not immediately be determined early Friday if Fuller had an attorney.
Fuller, originally from Oklawaha outside of Ocala, had been living with a former girlfriend in Salem.